Carry On
by Allen the Musician
Summary: Prequel to Reincarnation. The Winter War is over and Aizen has been defeated however the price paid by those who fought against the former captain and his minions was high. Many perished and those left behind struggle to pick up the pieces. IchiRuki R
1. War's End

Disclaimer- I do not own Bleach

A/N- This is a prequel to my story Reincarnation and begins just as the Winter War with Aizen ends. Many perished and those who remain attempt to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives. My first ever attempt at an IchiRuki fic.

Chapter One - War's End

The battle had raged on for what felt like an eternity however Aizen had finally fallen and Substitute Shinigami Ichigo Kurosaki was certain that this time he wasn't going to get back to his feet. The red and white mask that had covered his face exploded and his gaze shifted from the body of his enemy and surveyed the scene of complete and utter destruction.

"Ichigo!"

Ichigo's gaze immediately went to Rukia, who was running toward him. When she reached the spot where he was standing the young woman threw her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. Ichigo wrapped his arms around her in a protective manner and said, in a soft voice, "It's over."

Rukia nodded as she fought to pull herself together. The Winter War had at last came to an end however the cost of victory was high. Her thoughts flashed back to the moment when Aizen had aimed an attack at her and Hinamori and her gaze shifted over to the spot where the small body of Squad Ten Captain Toushirou Hitsugaya lay in a crumpled heap.

Ichigo followed her gaze and he swore softly when he saw Hitsugaya's body. Together he and Rukia walked over to the spot where he lay and Ichigo knelt on the ground next to the young, white-haired captain. The Substitute Shinigami punched the ground hard with his fist, spreading a spider web pattern of cracked earth several feet around his fist. "Dammit Toushirou. . . This shouldn't. . . I wasn't fast enough."

Rukia also felt the loss of the young captain tremendously, even though neither she nor Ichigo had been particularly close to Hitsugaya. They had both considered him a friend, although they were unsure of whether or not he returned the feeling, and he had died defending her and Hinamori from Aizen's wrath. She was sure that he'd known that Aizen was forcing him to sacrifice himself for them and yet he'd done it anyway; without hesitation he'd jumped in front of the attack that had been meant for them.

Hinamori had lost it when Aizen had kicked aside the body of the fallen captain and Rukia had been forced to call upon Hisagi to take her to the Squad Four medical tent. She knew that Hitsugaya's death would be hardest on the young woman, Hitsugaya's best friend since childhood. And the fact that Hitsugaya had sacrificed himself in order to save their lives would not make the loss any easier to bear, for either Hinamori or herself.

"I'm sorry," she whispered in a voice that was meant only for him.

Even though Ichigo was weak from the blood loss caused by his own injuries he pulled the body of the young captain into his arms and then slowly got to his feet. He staggered slightly, even though Hitsugaya wasn't heavy, however he forced himself to remain standing.

"Ichigo," Rukia said, a concerned expression in her violet eyes.

"We can't leave him here," Ichigo said, his voice filled with determination as he focused an intense gaze on Rukia. "He deserves better than that."

Rukia nodded and together they made their way across the Rukongai to the spot in District One where the other Shinigami had fought against the Espada. The battle had ended here as well and now members of Squad Four were dashing around the battlefield, attending to the wounded.

As they walked toward the others Ichigo's eyes fell upon the vice-captain of Squad Ten, Rangiku Matsumoto, and as her eyes fell upon the body of her fallen captain tears began streaming completely unchecked down her face. She just stood there, watching their approach and crying silently.

"I'm sorry Rangiku," Ichigo said in a quiet voice as he came to a stop in front of the weeping vice-captain. "If only I'd. . ."

Ichigo wanted to apologize for not getting to the scene in time to save the life of Captain Hitsugaya however he was becoming increasingly weaker with each second that passed and he swayed slightly to the side. Noticing that Ichigo was on the verge of collapse Matsumoto rushed over and, tears still streaming down her face, took the small body of her fallen captain gently into her arms.

"I'll take him Ichigo," Matsumoto said in a quivering voice, forcing herself not to break down. "You should go and let someone from Squad Four tend to your injuries."

Ichigo nodded and, after one last look at his fallen friend, the Substitute Shinigami allowed Rukia to help him over to the spot where Squad Four had a medical tent set up. The vice-captain of Squad Four, Isane Kotetsu, immediately noticed the severity of Ichigo's injuries and ushered him inside the medical tent, where they were treating the wounded before taking them back to the Seireitei.

Isane motioned toward a cot and Ichigo lay down without protest, a signal to all of just how injured the teen truly was. Under any normal circumstances Ichigo would have protested the fuss that was being made over him however he merely closed his eyes and allowed Isane to treat his injuries.

"Ichigo. . ." Rukia whispered, fear for him appearing in her eyes. She'd known all along that his injuries were serious however she hadn't realized until then just now exactly how serious. His shihakusho was covered with blood, not all of which was his own, however a large amount was indeed from his own injuries and his face was a deathly shade of white.

Isane glanced over at Rukia and offered her a comforting smile. "He'll be fine," she assured the younger woman.

Rukia nodded, desperately hoping that Isane was right. Despite the fact that she denied it to everyone, including herself, she had grown desperately attached to the orange haired Substitute Shinigami since she had met him and couldn't imagine how her life would be without him. "Please be okay Ichigo. For me."

As though he'd heard Rukia's thoughts Ichigo turned his head toward the spot where she was standing and offered her a small and somewhat forced smile. The moment was brief however and Ichigo closed his eyes once more.

Rukia knew that this had been his attempt to reassure her and she forced herself to believe that he would be okay. He would pull through this, after all he was just too damn stubborn to die.

"Rukia," Isane said over her shoulder, breaking into the other woman's thoughts. "I think you should go and let someone tend to your injuries."

"I'm fine," Rukia said quickly, not really wanting to leave Ichigo's side, just in case something unforeseen happened. She knew that the vice-captain of Squad Four was extremely capable however didn't think that she could bear to lose Ichigo on top of everything else that had happened.

"All the same you should let someone check you out," Isane persisted. "I promise he's in good hands."

Rukia debated arguing further but in the end decided that Isane had a point. Ichigo was in good hands and her presence wasn't required. With one last glance toward the man she'd come to care for dearly in the past several months Rukia turned and left.

Isane had told her that she needed to let someone from Squad Four treat her however she didn't have any serious injuries and felt that the time of the Squad Four members would be better utilized helping someone who actually needed their skills. So instead she went for a walk.

District One of the Rukongai lay in ruins and the true horror of the battle that had been waged here hit Rukia in this moment. This was the spot where her fellow Shinigami had battled with the Espada, the spot where she herself had fought until she felt the reiatsu of Captain Aizen and then saw Hinamori abandon her battle and flash step from the scene. Having just defeated her own opponent Rukia chose to follow Hinamori, knowing that nothing good could come from her encountering Aizen.

Rukia's thoughts went back to the moment that she and Hinamori had arrived in the clearing where Aizen stood, as though waiting for someone to appear and challenge him. He had an air of confidence around him as he gazed over at the two women.

"Hello Momo," he said in his velvety smooth voice.

Completely speechless Hinamori had made a move to take a step toward her traitorous former captain however Rukia had grabbed her upper arm, preventing her from doing something fearless not to mention completely stupid.

"And Rukia," Aizen said. "I must admit that I wasn't expecting you but am none the less happy that you're here. Now I can give you some important news that I was sure no one else would be interested in. The Substitute Shinigami is dead."

In that moment Rukia had felt as though her entire world had shattered. Ichigo dead. . . but that simply wasn't possible. Ichigo was one of the strongest people she knew and had already beaten impossible odds to rescue her from execution. There was just no way that he could be dead.

"You're lying," she snarled, glaring at the former Captain of Squad Five.

"I have no reason to lie," Aizen said calmly as he continued to gaze over at the two young women. Deciding that there had been enough talk Aizen drew his sword however before he could go any further the trio felt an icy wind begin to swirl around them.

_"_Well Toushirou it seems you made it in time to save your friends but tell me, who did you abandon so that you could come after them?" There was a cold expression in Aizen's brown eyes as he asked the young captain this question.

Matsumoto's face briefly flashed before his eyes before he banished the thought. "Aizen, this time I swear you're going to die."

"Didn't I warn you before about such threats?" Aizen asked, looking completely unconcerned by the boy's threat. "They make you sound weak."

In answer to the taunt from Aizen Hitsugaya had drawn Hyourinmaru from the sheath that he wore secured across his back and held the sword out in front of him. He was determined that this encounter would turn out different than the last time that he faced Aizen.

A fight between the two of them had ensued and much to Rukia's surprise Captain Hitsugaya had actually managed to hold his own against Aizen. The former Captain of Squad Five had also seemed somewhat surprised by the young prodigy's increase in power and had gazed at the boy with a smirk on his face. "It seems you've improved since last we met Toushirou."

At this point Aizen raised his sword and pointed it's tip toward the spot a few yards away where Rukia and Hinamori were standing. His intentions became painfully obvious as he made a move to swing the sword and without hesitation Hitsugaya launched himself toward the two women, appearing before them a split second before the attack reached them.

Without so much as a cry of pain Hitsugaya had fallen to the ground at which point Hinamori had gone ballistic. She leaned over the limp form of her best friend since childhood, crying out for him not to leave her, that she couldn't bear life without him.

Hitsugaya had gazed up at his friend for the briefest of moments before the light had gone out of his vivid, blue-green eyes. The young captain took one, final breath and closed his eyes, leaving Hinamori and Rukia alone to face Aizen.

Rukia had thought that the two of them would soon be joining Hitsugaya however Ichigo had shown up at exactly the right moment. Despite her sadness over what had happened to Captain Hitsugaya she couldn't help feeling joy at the knowledge that Aizen had been lying about Ichigo's death. "I knew it wasn't true."

Without a word Ichigo had engaged Aizen in battle and the two fought furiously. The battle hadn't progressed very far before Ichigo was forced to call upon his ultimate power and assume his Hollow persona. Rukia had seen this transformation several times however something about it was different this time.

Aizen also picked up on the change. "So that's why you survived. You've managed a perfect merger between Shinigami and Hollow."

Ichigo neither acknowledged nor denied Aizen's claims but instead raised his sword and once again engaged the traitorous former captain in battle. His new powers defied description and, although it was by no means easy, Ichigo managed to defeat Aizen.

Rukia's thoughts shifted back to the present, back to Matsumoto holding her deceased captain in her arms and Ichigo lying on a bed in the Squad Four medical tent. So much sadness on what should be a happy occasion. The Winter War had been won but where would they go from here?

A/N- and thus ends the first chapter of the prequel. Heinously depressing wasn't it? I mean it was horrible in reincarnation when you only vaguely knew what happened the day Hitsugaya died. Anyway this will eventually get happier. . . I hope. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I sincerely hope that you stick with the story. Feel free to review and let me know what you thought. Til next time this is Hitsu-taichou signing out.


	2. Recovery

Disclaimer - I do not own Bleach

Chapter Two - Recovery

After everyone who had been injured in the final battles of the war had been stabilized they were all moved from the medical tent to the Squad Four barracks, where they could be better taken care of. Rukia stayed away from the infirmary for as long as she could, wishing to give the Squad Four members a chance to do their jobs, but after several hours of wandering around the Rukongai she found that she could no longer quiet the voice in her head that screamed out its need to see Ichigo. She was still worried about him and needed to confirm to herself that he was indeed still alive. After all, to lose him now would completely destroy her.

So, her course of action decided upon, Rukia made her way back to the Seireitei and then headed straight for the Squad Four barracks. She had been here many times in the past, having often been injured during the course of her duties as a Shinigami, however it seemed oddly imposing in this moment in time.

_"Oh get a grip," _she thought to herself, feeling foolish for her hesitation.

The young woman reached toward the door, preparing to open it, however it slid open before she had the chance to grasp the handle. Surprised Rukia took a step back and then watched as Hanataro stepped out into the courtyard.

"Hello Rukia-san," the Squad Four officer said, offering Rukia a friendly smile. Hanataro was the member of Squad Four that she knew the best and Rukia felt some of her tension melt away. It had always been easy to talk to Hanataro. She gazed at him with a questioning look in her violet eyes. "Hanataro, how is Ichigo doing? Do you know?"

"He's stable," Hanataro replied, offering the young woman a comforting smile. "Although I haven't had any direct involvement with his treatment I've heard some of the others talking about it. He was the most seriously injured however he also has the fiercest will to live. I'm sure that he's going to be just fine. In fact if I know Ichigo he'll but up and about and causing trouble in no time." The Squad Four member paused for a minute and then added, "He's in the last room in the farthest right corridor of the North Wing if you want to go and see him."

"Thank you Hanataro," Rukia said in a quiet voice as she moved to enter the Squad Four barracks. Hanataro's words had served to ease some of her worry and her heart seemed somewhat lighter as she made her way down a corridor.

"Rukia-chan," a quiet voice called out as the young woman made her way down the corridor toward Ichigo's room.

Rukia glanced around, seeking the source of the voice that had called out to her, and she saw Captain Kyouraku of Squad Eight sitting in the floor, his back pressed up against the wall. This was the captain that she'd had the most interaction with, aside from her own that is, and she offered him a smile.

"On your way to see Ichigo?" Captain Kyouraku guessed, recognizing the expression that he saw in her violet eyes. It was the same expression that he saw within his own eyes whenever he looked at his reflection while thinking of his Nanao-chan.

As his thoughts shifted back to his beloved vice-captain, and the woman that he hoped someday to marry, Kyouraku's eyes clouded. He still felt guilty over what had happened to her and wished that he had been able to protect her. He should have kept her away from the battle, he knew that now, however this knowledge came too late.

Noticing the change in his expression Rukia asked, "Is everything alright Captain Kyouraku?"

"My little Nanao-chan was injured during our battle," he told her in a subdued voice, so unlike his usual exuberant tone. There was also a sad look in his eyes as he recalled what had happened. "They tell me that it's a minor injury though."

"I'm sure that Nanao-san will be back on her feet in no time," Rukia said, seeking to offer him some comfort. She knew all too well what he was going through right now and wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Captain Kyouraku nodded, thinking of his Nanao-chan's determination and flat-out stubbornness. "I'm sure you're right Rukia-chan. Anyway you should probably get to Ichigo."

Rukia nodded and, after bowing respectfully to the Squad Eight Captain, she continued on her way down the corridor. When she reached the room that Hanataro had told her was Ichigo's she met Captain Unohana and vice-captain Kotetsu, both of whom were leaving the room that she wanted so desperately to enter.

"Hello Rukia," Captain Unohana said in her customary quiet tone. There was a kind expression in her eyes as she gazed down at the young woman.

Rukia bowed respectfully to the Squad Four Captain. "Hello Captain Unohana. I was just. . ."

Captain Unohana smiled as she anticipated the words that Rukia was about to speak. "Kurosaki-san is resting comfortably but I think his recovery would be very much aided if you were by his side."

"Thank you," Rukia said, a grateful expression in her violet eyes.

Captain Unohana nodded, the light of understanding in her kind eyes. "I have some other patients that I need to attend to. I'll come back to check on him again later."

"Okay," Rukia said in a soft voice. Her gaze followed the two Squad Four officers until they disappeared around a corner and then she turned back to Ichigo's closed door. The young woman took a deep breath, steeling herself for what she was about to see, and then slid the door open.

As she stepped into the semi-darkened room Rukia gasped as her eyes adjusted to the half light and her gaze fell upon Ichigo. He lay on a bed in the center of the room and although he was partially covered by a white sheet what part of him Rukia could see was covered by bandages.

Taking another deep breath Rukia walked over to Ichigo's bedside. The young man's face was discolored by an array of bruises, in various shades of black and blue, but as Rukia gazed down at him she saw that he had a look of peace about him.

"Rest easy Ichigo," she said as she sat down in a chair by his side. "You've definitely earned it."

* * *

Rukia remained by Ichigo's side, refusing to leave him alone for any reason, and she was there when he finally opened his eyes for the first time since his collapse in the Squad Four medical tent. The young woman jumped to her feet at the first twitch of Ichigo's eyelids and she smiled as he fully opened his eyes. "Welcome back," she whispered softly as she gazed down into Ichigo's eyes.

"How long have I been out?" Ichigo asked in an unusually weak voice, already making an attempt to sit up. He grimaced in pain as his body protested the movement but continued to pull himself to a sitting position.

"Don't do that," Rukia admonished, reaching out and gently but firmly pushing him back down onto the pillows. "And you've been unconscious for about eight hours."

"Damn," Ichigo muttered, shocked that he'd slept that long.

"Don't worry about it," Rukia said. "After everything that you went through I think you've more than earned it."

Ichigo's thoughts once again went back to the tragedy that had befallen Soul Society only hours ago and his gaze darkened.

"I'm sorry Ichigo," Rukia said in a quiet and apologetic voice. "I didn't mean to remind you."

"It's okay," Ichigo said, reaching out and grasping Rukia's hand. "It's not as though I could ever forget. And those that lost their lives deserve more than to be forgotten. They should be honored as the heroes that they are."

Rukia nodded, fully agreeing with him. The ones who had made the ultimate sacrifice in the effort to defeat Aizen were the biggest heroes of the war and deserved to be honored for their contribution to the safety of Soul Society.

"So how are you?" Ichigo asked, a concerned expression on his bruised face as he gazed at her and for the first time noticed the dark shadows that were under her beautiful eyes. "You look like you need to sleep for about twelve hours. Have you rested at all?"

"Of course I have," Rukia said quickly, not wanting him to worry over something so insignificant.

"Liar," Ichigo said, shaking his head as he discerned the truth from her eyes. She'd been here the whole time, he knew this without a doubt. Honestly Rukia was a terrible liar, those violet eyes betrayed her every time. With great difficulty he managed to shift his body to one edge of the bed and he motioned for her to join him. "Come on," he said when she hesitated, looking uncertain. "I promise that I won't bite you."

Rukia snorted and then lay down on the bed beside him. Exhaustion set in at this point, her physical exertion as well as her mental anguish finally catching up with her, and Rukia was asleep in a matter of moments. As he listened to her breathing even out Ichigo wrapped his arms protectively around the small woman that lay beside him.

"I'm glad you're safe," he whispered as he held her, his gaze soft as he stared down at her peaceful features.

* * *

Two days later Ichigo decided that he'd had all of the cure that he had time for and made an attempt to get out of bed and leave Squad Four. Unfortunately for him Rukia and Isane were in his room when he made this decision and both of them were adamant that he should remain under the care of Squad Four.

"It hasn't even been a full forty-eightr hours since the battle," Rukia said as she once again prevented Ichigo from rising from the bed. "You're injuries are still serious and you NEED TO REST!"

"I said I'm fine," Ichigo said as he attempted to remove her restraining hands from his shoulders. He was already sick of lying in bed and needed to get up and do something. His sanity was hanging by a thread and he didn't know how much more he could take.

"Kurosaki-san," Isane said as she walked over to the bed and helped Rukia to restrain him. "You really should listen to her."

"I've never listened to her," Ichigo growled, eyeing the two women. "So why should I start now?"

"He really must be feeling better," Rukia muttered, slightly annoyed. "He's starting to get combative."

At this moment the door of the room slid open and Captain Unohana entered the room. She had heard the shouting coming from this room all the way down the hall and she cast them all a questioning look as she stepped inside the room.

"Captain Unohana," Isane said as her superior stepped into the room.

"Are you feeling better Kurosaki-san?" Unohana asked in her soft-edged voice, fixing the Substitute Shinigami with an intense gaze. Already he looked better than he had when she had last seen him and he obviously had some fight left in him, judging by the struggle he was putting up against Rukia and Isane.

"I'm fine," Ichigo insisted, glaring at Rukia who still had her hands on his shoulders. "So could you please tell them to LET ME GO?"

Unohana nodded and turned to the two younger women. She understood how they felt and personally thought that the Substitute Shinigami should take it easy for a few more days at least however she was also aware of the fact that they couldn't force him to do so. To attempt this would only cause him more damage and was thus not a viable option. "If he insists then it's best to just give in. If he keeps struggling like that then he'll only cause himself more damage."

Isane and Rukia both nodded, although it was reluctantly on the part of Rukia, and released their hold on Ichigo's shoulders.

"Thank you," Ichigo said.

"Isane," Unohana said softly, turning her attention to her vice-captain.

"Yes Captain?"

"Could you come with me please?" Unohana asked, motioning for Isane to follow her.

Isane nodded and quickly fell into step behind her captain.

Ichigo and Rukia watched as the two Squad Four officers left the room and then Ichigo fixed the tiny woman at his side with a pointed look. Captain Unohana had taken his side in this argument and he wasn't going to let Rukia ignore that fact. Rukia stared back at him for a few moments before she removed her hands from his shoulders and allowed him to rise. She didn't look happy about this turn of events however Ichigo was certain that she would easily forgive him.

"Come on," the Substitute Shinigami said as he wrapped the shirt of his shihakusho around the white robe that he already wore. "Let's get out of here. I need to see my family."

Sensing the urgency in his request Rukia swallowed her annoyance and nodded. She understood his worry and knew that he would feel better once he'd seen that his family were all okay. And after all she owed it to him to do anything he wanted since she was the whole reason he'd even been involved with Soul Society in the first place.

_"I swear someday I'll make it up to you," _she thought to herself as she and Ichigo left Squad Four arm in arm.

A/N - and there's chapter two. I sincerely hope that you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a review and tell me what you thought. Til next time this is Hitsu-taichou signing out.


	3. Honoring the Fallen

Disclaimer - I do not own Bleach

Chapter Three - Honoring the Fallen

Having left Ichigo with his family, Rukia made her way toward the Squad Eight barracks. She had received word that a Shinigami Women's Association meeting was being held only about half an hour ago and could probably have gotten out of it due to the short notice however she really wanted to be there. The meeting was being held to discuss the arrangements for honoring all those who had lost their lives in the final battle of the Winter War and she desperately wanted to help.

Rukia was still concerned about Ichigo of course, convinced that he had left the infirmary too soon, however she'd left him in the care of his dad and two sisters so she knew that he was in good hands. Karin could keep him in line if no one else could.

When Rukia arrived at the Squad Eight conference room, where their Women's Association meeting was being held, she saw that she was the last person to arrive. "Sorry guys," she said in a breathless voice as she took her place among the others. "I would have been here sooner but I had to find a baby-sitter for Ichigo."

"Still being difficult?" Isane asked, a look of understanding in her eyes.

"Always," Rukia replied with a smile. She tried to sound annoyed with Ichigo but honestly she was still so happy that he was okay that she was finding it impossible to stay angry with him.

"Alright," Nanao said, effectively capturing the attention of the group. "You were all called here so that we could discuss the details of the memorial services for all those we lost in battle."

There were nods around the room as the women all gave Nanao their complete and undivided attention.

"I think that we should split the services up," Nanao said in a solemn voice. "The first for all the unseated officers, the next for all seated officers, a third for vice-captains. . ."

Nanao paused at this point and Isane spoke up. "I think that Captain Zaraki and vice-captain Kusajishi should be honored together. After all you rarely ever saw one without the other. It just wouldn't be right to separate them."

There were murmurs of approval among the women and Nanao nodded. "All right, the third ceremony will be for vice-captains Kira and Kurotsuchi, the fourth will be for Captain Zaraki and vice-captain Kusajishi and then finally a fifth for Captain Hitsugaya."

Rukia felt a lump appear in her throat at the mention of the young captain who'd given up his life in order to save her and Hinamori from Aizen. And as she felt the sting of tears in her eyes she heard a soft sniffling noise coming from behind her. Rukia turned toward the sound and saw Matsumoto dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief.

Feeling sorry for Matsumoto, Rukia reached out and touched her gently on the forearm. She knew that Matsumoto was taking the loss of Captain Hitsugaya hard and she wanted to offer the older woman what comfort she could.

Fighting to compose herself Matsumoto offered the young woman a grateful smile. "Thanks," she mouthed.

Rukia nodded and once again focused her attention on Nanao, who had gone into the details of the memorial services. The Women's Association spent nearly an hour working out the fine details of each service and then adjourned.

Matsumoto was one of the first to leave the Squad Eight conference room and Rukia followed along behind her. "Are you okay Rangiku-san?" she asked as the two women stepped out into the courtyard.

Matsumoto nodded, wiping the tears from her blue eyes one final time. "It's just hard to adjust to the fact that he isn't ever coming back."

Rukia nodded, at a loss for what to say to her friend. She wanted to offer Matsumoto comfort but the words got caught in her throat so she settled for reaching out and once again touching the older woman on the forearm.

Matsumoto cleared her throat. "Well I should probably try to find Momo so that I can tell her what's going on."

Rukia's violet eyes widened as she realized for the first time that the Squad Five Captain hadn't attended the meeting. "I didn't even notice that she wasn't here."

"I was going to tell her about the meeting," Matsumoto said, thinking about her captain's best friend. "But I couldn't find her in time. And I don't really think that she would have came anyway. She isn't doing so well."

Rukia nodded. She'd suspected that Hinamori would take the loss of Captain Hitsugaya extremely hard and wasn't surprised to hear that she'd been correct. The two of them had been friends since their childhood days in the Rukongai and he'd died to save her life. That kind of sacrifice was hard to deal with for the one left behind.

"Anyway I'll see you later Rukia," Matsumoto said in a quiet voice.

"Bye."

Rukia watched as the Squad Ten vice-captain walked off and then she made her way to the Senkaimon that would take her to the world of the living. She once again felt the compulsive need to see Ichigo and make sure that hw was still okay.

"I wonder how long this feeling will last," the young woman thought to herself as she made her way to the world of the living.

Upon arriving in the world of the living Rukia hurried to the small clinic that was owned and operated by Isshin Kurosaki, Ichigo's father as well as a former Shinigami Captain. The young woman knocked lightly on the door and then stepped back to wait.

A few seconds passed and then the door slid open to reveal Ichigo's blonde haired little sister Yuzu. The young girl smiled as she seized Rukia by the arm and pulled her inside the clinic. "You know you don't have to knock Rukia-chan, I mean you're practically family already."

Rukia blushed at the reference to her relationship with Ichigo. She was still somewhat confused about her feelings for the orange haired Substitute Shinigami and hadn't realized that other people had picked up on their relationship.

"Ichigo," Yuzu called out happily as she continued to pull Rukia by the hand. "It's Rukia-chan!"

Yuzu pulled Rukia into a small family room where she saw that Ichigo was seated on the sofa. Safe and unharmed. Despite herself Rukia felt a sense of relief wash over her.

"Yo," Ichigo said as his gaze fell upon her. He threw up his hand in casual greeting.

"Hey," Rukia said in a quiet voice as she sat down on the sofa beside him.

"So how was your meeting?" Ichigo asked, fixing her with an intense gaze.

"They've decided to have five memorial services," Rukia told him. "Spread out over the course of five days. The first will be for all the unseated officers, the second for all seated officers, the third for Kira and Nemu, the fourth for Kenpachi and Yachiru and the fifth for Toushirou."

Ichigo nodded, to show that he'd heard. He still felt guilty that he hadn't been able to defeat Aizen in Hueco Mundo and hearing the list for the memorial service only added to those feelings of guilt. If he'd only been able to end it before the battle moved to Soul Society then everyone would still be alive. Toushirou, Kenpachi, everyone.

"I know that look," Rukia said as she gazed at him through understanding violet eyes. "You're blaming yourself for what happened and you shouldn't. This isn't your fault Ichigo."

"But if I'd only been faster," Ichigo began.

"And what if you'd been slower?" Rukia countered, cutting into his words before he had a chance to finish. "Think of all those you saved."

Ichigo offered her a smile as he debated her words. It sounded so simple the way she said it but he knew that it would be a long time before he got over what had happened. A long time before he was able to forgive himself for failing so many.

However as his gaze lingered on Rukia he realized, maybe for the first time ever, that he had succeeded in saving the most important person.

* * *

Rukia spent the night with Ichigo and his family in the world of the living and then, the following morning, the two of them prepared to travel to Soul Society for the first of the memorial services. "Come on," Ichigo said as he turned to leave his room, already in soul form and dressed in his shihakusho. "I don't think we can put it off any longer. If we don't hurry then we're going to be late."

Rukia nodded, knowing that he was right, and together the two of them left his room and descended the stairs.

Ichigo was traveling at a fairly quick pace however when he reached the small foyer the young man stopped short, causing Rukia to crash into him.

"What was up with that?" Rukia demanded, rubbing her nose which she's smashed against his back due to his sudden halt.

In answer to her question Ichigo stepped aside so that she could see for herself what had caused the traffic jam. Rukia's eyes widened as her gaze fell upon Isshin, dressed in a shihakusho and wearing a white haori draped over his shoulder.

"What are you doing Dad?" Ichigo asked, a questioning look in his eyes as he surveyed his dad's outfit.

"I want to accompany you to Soul Society," Isshin replied, his voice uncharacteristically quiet. "To attend the memorial service."

"Alright," Ichigo said, turning to Rukia. "You don't mind do you?"

"Of course not," Rukia said. "Let's go."

The two Kurosaki men nodded and together the trio made their way to the Senkaimon. Rukia activated the gate and together she, Ichigo, and Isshin traveled to Soul Society. Then, once there, Rukia led the way across the Seireitei toward the Squad One complex. The memorial services were being held in the courtyard in front of Squad One and it was there that all of the Shinigami were gathering.

With Rukia in the lead the group entered the courtyard and as soon as they stepped inside their gazes fell upon thirteen stones that had been placed along the back wall of the courtyard, surrounded by a large number of chairs. Pictures were lined up on top of each stone and although it was impossible to read them Rukia knew that the names of all of the fallen unseated officers of each squad were engraved upon the stones.

Rukia hesitated at the sight of the stone representing the fallen of Squad Thirteen and Ichigo took her by the hand and led her toward a row of chairs. Normally the Shinigami would have been seated according to squad and rank however they had all grown close in the months leading up to the war and now friends just sat with friends. Isshin took a seat and Ichigo sat beside him, with Rukia positioning herself on his other side. Head Captain Ukitake sat beside her, with his best friend Captain Kyouraku on his other side. Nanao sat beside her captain with her best friend Matsumoto finishing out that row.

Rukia's gaze shifted as she saw Hinamori enter the courtyard, accompanied by Hisagi. The young woman looked distraught and Rukia couldn't help but feel sorry for her. It was obvious to her that Hinamori wasn't coping very well with the loss of her friend and she was glad that Hisagi seemed to be attempting to offer her comfort. She needed someone understanding during this difficult time.

Rukia's thoughts shifted away from Hinamori and Hisagi as Head Captain Ukitake stood up to speak and she focused all of her attention on him as he spoke of the sacrifice that the fallen unseated officers had made in the service of Soul Society.

Rukia felt the tears begin to sting her eyes as she listened to Ukitake speak but felt comforted when Ichigo reached over and took her hand in his own. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and she returned the gentle pressure, comforted by his presence and by his understanding.

Once Ukitake had finished speaking they all rose and broke into their squads in order of rank. The groups lined up in front of the stones that corresponded with their own squad and placed a single flower on top of the stone. Then they all returned to their seats and watched as Ukitake placed a flower on top of each of the thirteen stones before returning to his own seat. As one the group all bowed to the stones, honoring each of the fallen, and then they were dismissed.

Rukia and Ichigo walked over to the row where Renji and Isane were standing, leaving Isshin to talk to the Head Captain. Rukia had seen Renji ask Hisagi and Hinamori something but hadn't been able to hear what was said. The answer was apparently no however as the two shook their heads and left the courtyard together.

"Hey," Renji said as his best friend and former rival came to stand in front of him. "Would the two of you like to go out and get something to eat with us? I asked Hisagi and Momo but they didn't want to. Matsumoto's coming though as well as some others."

Rukia glanced at Ichigo and then nodded. "Sure, that actually sounds like fun."

Renji smiled and together the group departed the Squad One barracks, their sorrows forgotten if only for the briefest time.

* * *

The next day the Shinigami once again assembled in the Squad One courtyard and as before thirteen stones were lined up against the back wall. New names were etched upon the stones and a different row of pictures sat atop each one. The Shinigami all took the same seats that they had occupied the day before and waited for the Head Captain to begin the service. This service was much the same as the one the previous day had been and at the end they once again split up according to squad and rank and placed their squad's flower atop the stone that corresponded with their respective squads.

Tears appeared in Rukia's violet eyes as she thought about the friends that she had lost from Squad Thirteen. It was true that she hadn't had a tremendous amount of friends, having always been shunned for one reason or another, but to lose even one friend was heartbreaking.

Seeing her tears Ichigo walked over and placed his arm around her shoulder. He didn't belong to a squad and decided to just stand with her, to offer her moral support. Rukia was grateful for this gesture and once she had placed her flower upon the Squad Thirteen Stone she stepped back with Ichigo and watched as Ukitake once again placed a flower on each of the stones.

As before they bowed as a group and then the service was over.

"Come on Rukia," Ichigo said as he once again wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "We should go and do something fun."

Rukia had no idea what something fun might entail however she wanted nothing more than to be with him so she nodded her head and gladly followed him out of the Squad One courtyard.

* * *

When Ichigo and Rukia entered the Squad One courtyard on the third day of services, it was to find only two stones standing side by side along the back wall where thirteen had stood the previous day. One of the stones bore the image of Kira etched in stone with his name underneath and the symbol for Squad Three in the background. Nemu's stone was the same with her image and name etched over the symbol for Squad Twelve. And on top of both stones the fallen vice-captains' zanpaktou had been positioned in a place of honor.

Rukia hadn't really known either vice-captain well, even though Kira had been in the same year as her in the Academy. He'd been with Renji and Momo in the advanced class and she knew that the two of them would be feeling his loss.

Glancing at the couple, who were once again seated together, she saw that Hinamori was holding Hisagi's hand and seemingly offering him comfort. A smile appeared on her face as she thought that the two of them were good for one another.

"Maybe they can help one another move on," she thought to herself as she watched Head Captain Ukitake get to his feet to speak of the two fallen vice-captains.

Once Head Captain Ukitake had finished his speech the Shinigami all lined up, forming only one line this time. And as Rukia and Ichigo reached the stone they saw that there were no flowers atop Kira's stone, only a bottle of sake and a lone cup. Picking up the cup she poured a small amount of sake into it, held it up to the stone and then quickly drained it, trying to ignore the fact that it burned all the way down.

Rukia offered the cup to Ichigo and, after a moment's hesitation, he copied her motions.

Once the memorial service was over Ichigo and Rukia were once again approached by Renji, who was followed closely behind by Matsumoto. Renji asked them if they wanted to go out and have a drink and after a moment's thought the two of them nodded in unison.

"Great," Renji said.

Ichigo and Rukia fell into step behind Renji, who led the way over to the spot where Hisagi and Hinamori were standing together. "Hey," he said as the group came to a stop beside them, deciding to once again try and entice the two of them to join the group. "We're all going out for a drink. Would the two of you like to come with us?"

For a moment it looked as though Hisagi was going to refuse however Hinamori spoke up in a soft voice. "I would love to go."

At this point Hinamori glanced over at Hisagi expectantly and he nodded. Happy that they were going to join the group Renji clapped him on the back. Matsumoto glanced at him with a quizzical gaze but said nothing as they made their way to a small bar next to the western gate. Everyone else was laughing and chatting but Hinamori just placed her small hand in Hisagi's.

After a short walk they made it to the bar and sat down at a square table. Hinamori sat between Hisagi and Matsumoto, who was followed by Rukia and then Ichigo, leaving Renji to sit between Ichigo and Hisagi. When someone came to take their order everyone laughed at Renji who felt the need to give Ichigo a hard time about ordering tea instead of sake. It wasn't as though he were the only one, Rukia and Hinamori had both ordered tea as well, however Ichigo was the only one who was given grief over it.

When the drinks were brought out Renji asked for three extra cups, which confused a couple of people in the group, Hinamori included. Hisagi knew what he was doing however and when the cups arrived he filled two, handing one to Hinamori. Renji did the same for Ichigo and Matsumoto for Rukia. Then, when everyone had their full cup of sake, Renji raised his and made a toast.

"To Fallen Friends."

They all raised their cups with solemn faces, even Ichigo, and repeated, "To Fallen Friends."

Everyone drained their cups at the same time and the drink left poor Hinamori stuttering and attempting to catch her breath. Everyone glanced at the small woman in surprise while Hisagi patted her on the back until she managed to catch her breath.

"That stuff tastes awful," Hinamori said, uttering the first words that popped into her head. "I think I will stick to tea."

Apparently that was all that was needed to break the tension of the day. Matsumoto burst out laughing, followed by everyone else in the group. Even Hisagi couldn't help but chuckle softly at Hinamori's rather unexpected statement. From then on nothing was said about wars, battles, or even lost friends. They all just chatted about nothing important, with Renji continuing to give Ichigo a hard time. Even Rukia joined in the joking.

* * *

Attending services was becoming routine in the Seireitei and the next day the Shinigami made their way to the Squad One courtyard for the fourth time and this time there was only one stone standing alone. A picture of Kenpachi was emblazoned on the stone and, hanging off his shoulder, as she was so often seen in life, was Yachiru. Both of their names were etched underneath the picture and their zanpaktou had been placed on top.

Head Captain Ukitake once again delivered a eulogy and then the Shinigami all lined up. Once again a bottle of sake and a cup had been placed on the top of the stone so that they could honor the Squad Eleven officers in the same way that they had honored Kira.

Ichigo didn't even hesitate this time, taking the cup from Rukia and draining it in one gulp.

The week of mourning was beginning to take its toll on people and no one felt much like going out at the end of the fourth ceremony. Rukia and Ichigo left the Squad One courtyard together and just went for a walk around Seireitei. They didn't say much, each lost in their own thoughts, however they walked hand in hand and took comfort from one another's presence.

* * *

The last ceremony was held nearly a week after the end of the Winter War and as Ichigo and Rukia once again stepped inside the Squad One courtyard their eyes sought out the familiar marble stone however they were in for a surprise. Instead of the marble that all of the other memorial stones had been constructed of Captain Hitsugaya's was different. This memorial was constructed of ice of the clearest blue, surrounded by a kidou barrier so that it would never melt. The young captain's image had been etched on the ice, along with his name and the symbol for Squad Ten. And there, on the top of the stone, was Hitsugaya's zanpaktou Hyourinmaru.

"The stone's almost as tall as he was," Ichigo whispered as he and Rukia took their usual seats.

Rukia nodded, tears already forming in her violet eyes. Captain Hitsugaya had saved her life and she couldn't help the stab of guilt that she felt as she gazed at the large piece of ice that bore his picture. Her thoughts were interrupted however as she saw Hinamori and Hisagi enter the courtyard. They were the last two to arrive for the service and Hinamori looked more distraught than Rukia had seen her thus far. Rukia shook her head sadly, knowing that this service would be the hardest for her.

As Head Captain Ukitake began to speak Rukia noticed that Hinamori immediately began to cry. And as the service progressed her tears only grew stronger, her entire body shaking with the magnitude of her grief. Hisagi wrapped his arms around Hinamori as Ukitake spoke however the words seemed to only make Hinamori's grief harder to bear.

Ten minutes passed and Hinamori seemed to grow worse and worse until Hisagi finally gathered the young woman into his arms and carried her from the courtyard. Rukia watched as the two of them left, concerned for Hinamori.

As soon as the service ended Rukia left Ichigo and Renji standing around and walked over to Matsumoto and Nanao. Together the three women discussed what they had witnessed and decided that they needed to go and find Hinamori and Hisagi. It was obvious that Hinamori needed the comfort of friends right now and they were all concerned for her.

"Come on," Matsumoto said, leading the way toward the gate.

The other two women followed and it wasn't long before they came across Hisagi, lying motionless on the ground. Rukia gasped at the sight, "Is he. . ."

"It's a sleeping kidou," Nanao said as she began working to reverse the kidou. "And a really strong one at that."

After a few minutes Hisagi opened his eyes and it was immediately obvious that he desperately wanted to tell them something and couldn't. "Hisagi-san," Nanao said when he made the attempt to speak. "It will be just a minute before you can speak. I am breaking the kidou but it is not easy."

Hisagi closed his eyes and waited and the next time he tried to speak it worked. "Where's Momo?"

"The last time we saw her she was with you," Matsumoto said. The Squad Ten vice-captain turned to Nanao, a questioning look in her blue eyes. "Can you find her reiatsu?"

Hisagi shook his head. "Don't bother. She's been concealing it since the war."

"Are you telling us that Hinamori knocked you out with kidou, then left, and we can't find her with reiatsu?" Rukia asked, a horrified expression in her violet eyes.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Hisagi said, cursing himself for allowing this to happen. "The only warning I got was a flare of reiatsu. I tried to block her sleeping kidou with my own reiatsu but as you can see it wasn't enough."

"It's a good thing you did," Nanao stated, her gaze focused on Hisagi. "Had you taken the full brunt of her attack I probably wouldn't have been able to break it this quick. It wasn't just a sleeping kidou, it had a binding kidou mixed in, and that's why it's taking so long for you to be able to move."

"How long have I been out?" Hisagi wanted to know.

"We don't know," Matsumoto replied. "The service had just ended when we found you."

"We have to find her," Hisagi said, concern for her evident in his voice as he gazed at each of the women in turn. "We can split up."

Nanao sounded doubtful as she stated, "I'm not sure that you can stand yet let alone use your flash-step."

"I can," Hisagi said, his voice determined. "I have to."

The three women watched as he forced himself to his feet and Rukia couldn't help but marvel at his strength and determination.

"I will check Squad Ten and see if she's there," Nanao said.

"I will check the river," Matsumoto said, sounding hopeful. "She might be there remembering."

"I'll go check the Squad Five offices," Rukia said, racking her brain in an attempt to think where an emotionally fragile Hinamori might have ran off to.

Hisagi nodded. "I'll go see if she returned to her apartment."

So, decisions made, the group split up, each going in a different direction. Using her flash-step Rukia made her way to the Squad Five barracks and when she reached it she ran down the hall to the office that Hinamori had shared with Aizen.

When she reached the office Rukia slid the door open and was horrified by the sight that met her gaze. Hinamori was kneeling in front of the desk, holding the tip of her zanpaktou to her chest. "What are you doing?" Rukia shouted, startling Hinamori.

After a few seconds Hinamori's voice came back and she shouted, "He's GONE! **DEAD! **And it's all because of me. . . it's my fault."

Angered by Hinamori's actions and feeling that they made a mockery of the sacrifice that her best friend had made for her Rukia strode across the room and slapped Hinamori hard across the face. Completely stunned by the force of the blow Hinamori dropped the zanpaktou that she'd been holding and just stared up into Rukia's angry face.

"I can't believe you have the nerve to even think about committing suicide. Your best friend sacrificed his life to save yours and here you are, mocking his actions and his memory, by trying to kill yourself."

Those words set something off in Hinamori's mind and she broke down. Tears began streaming down her face and without warning she threw herself into Rukia's arms. Rukia wrapped her arms around Hinamori and just held her as she cried. Placing a hand on her head and stroking her hair Rukia whispered, "Everything's gonna be okay. It'll take some time but I promise you, you'll find a reason to smile again."

Rukia sat with Hinamori for nearly a half an hour and then, once the young woman had managed to compose herself a little, she left the office and told Hisagi that he could go in and see her. He'd poked his head in the office earlier but had backed off when he saw that Rukia had the situation under control.

"Don't worry," she told Hisagi as she departed. "She'll be okay. It'll just take some time for her to get over the loss of her friend."

"Thank you Rukia," Hisagi said.

"No problem," Rukia said. "Now I should probably get back and check on Ichigo and Renji. I left the two of them together and that could be dangerous. I'll be at Squad One if you need me."

Hisagi nodded.

Rukia offered him one last, encouraging smile and then walked away.

A/N- wow that was a long chapter. Some dialogue borrowed from lieutenant-taijiya's My Reason to Smile, which is also a companion piece to Reincarnation. Borrowed with permission I might add because all of these stories have to fit together. The memorial services were her design as well. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please review and let me know what you thought. Til next time this is Hitsu-taichou signing out.


	4. Reluctant Captain

Disclaimer - I do not own Bleach

Chapter Four - Reluctant Captain

A couple of days had passed since the last of the memorial services and the inhabitants of the Seireitei were attempting to return to a sense of normalcy. Head Captain Ukitake had made the announcement that new captains would soon be chosen for Squads Three, Five, Nine, Ten, Eleven and Thirteen.

"I wonder who the old man is going to chose," Ichigo said as he and Rukia sat outside of the Kuchiki manor. The two were sitting on the soft grass in a small garden, watching as a group of koi swam around a small pond.

"I would imagine that most of the vice-captains will be promoted," Rukia said, a thoughtful expression in her violet eyes. "The ones who have achieved Bankai at any rate."

"Hmm," Ichigo said. "Then it should be easy enough to chose."

"Maybe," Rukia said, thinking of those who had yet to achieve Bankai and of Hinamori in particular. She was doing better now but showed little interest in running Squad Five. In fact most days she couldn't even stand to be there and spent the majority of her time with Hisagi.

"Cheer up," Ichigo said, reaching over and picking up Rukia's hand. Gazing down at her pale skin he gave her hand a comforting squeeze. "I'm sure Ukitake will do what's best for Soul Society."

Rukia nodded as she returned the gentle pressure that he was placing on her hand. It was true that Head Captain Ukitake had done a great job since assuming leadership of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads however the choices that he had to make now were by no means easy.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Both Ichigo and Rukia jumped at the sound of the sharp voice behind them and Rukia instinctively pulled her hand free from Ichigo's grasp. "Nii-sama," she said as Byakuya came to stand in front of them. She was surprised to see him back at the manor so soon and couldn't completely hide this surprise from her voice. "I thought that you were attending a captains' meeting."

"The meeting was temporarily adjourned," Byakuya said in a flat tone, his stoic features impossible to read. "Your presence has been requested in Squad One."

A confused expression appeared in Rukia's violet eyes as she gazed up at her adopted older brother. "Me?"

"Both of you," Byakuya said, his gaze shifting back and forth between her and Ichigo.

Ichigo gazed up at the face of his former rival. "Huh?"

"The Head Captain wishes to speak to both of you," Byakuya said. "Immediately."

Ichigo looked as though he'd like nothing more than to refuse the summons but Rukia got to her feet, pulling him along with her. "Come on Ichigo," Rukia said, knowing that he would want to refuse. "It's not like it's going to kill you to hear what Head Captain Ukitake has to say."

"It might," Ichigo muttered, an unexplained sense of foreboding descending upon him, but made no move to protest when Rukia began pulling him along.

Byakuya eyed their clasped hands as he followed them from the courtyard and although he didn't address the matter Ichigo could swear that he felt Byakuya's reiatsu surge for the briefest of moments.

"That's not a good sign," Ichigo thought to himself as Rukia led the way toward the Squad One barracks. It wasn't that Ichigo was afraid of the Squad Six Captain, having already defeated him once in battle, but he was pretty sure that Rukia would be angry with him if he fought her brother again.

"So what does Head Captain Ukitake want with us?" Rukia asked as the group neared the Squad One barracks.

"I did not ask," Byakuya stated. "I was merely told to inform the two of you that your presence was requested. It was not my place to question why."

"Ugh," Ichigo groaned under his breath, shaking his head as he gazed at the stoic Byakuya. "You would have thought that the man would learn his lesson about such blind obedience."

When the trio arrived at the Squad One conference room Rukia stepped aside and allowed her brother to step forward to the front of their little group and knock on the door. "Captain of Squad Six Byakuya Kuchiki, accompanied by Rukia Kuchiki of Squad Thirteen and Substitute Shinigami Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Enter," a voice called out from within the room.

Byakuya slid the door open and stepped across the threshold into the room, followed closely behind by Rukia and then a little further back by a slightly reluctant Ichigo. And as he walked across the room he saw that several people were assembled inside, lined up in two parallel lines.

He noticed Renji and Hisagi, both of whom were wearing the white haoris that marked them as captains. _"So Renji got a promotion huh? No wonder Byakuya looks so pissy, his vice-captain's even in rank with him now."_ Despite himself Ichigo found that this thought brought a small smile to his face.

"Ichigo," Head Captain Ukitake said as Byakuya fell into line, leaving Ichigo and Rukia to stand alone in front of the Head Captain.

"Hey Ukitake," Ichigo said, offering the white-haired Shinigami a friendly smile. He'd never been one for formality and that wasn't likely to change anytime soon. "How's it going?"

"Okay," Ukitake said quietly, surveying the room. "We've filled most of the vacant captain positions."

"Most?" Ichigo repeated.

Ukitake nodded. "Squad Five is the only squad that remains without leadership."

"Squad Five huh? Can't Hinamori take over? I mean she's been the acting captain for several months already."

"Momo has resigned from the Thirteen Court Guard Squads," Ukitake said in a quiet tone of voice. "She's taking a position at the Shinigami Academy, teaching advanced kidou."

"Oh," Ichigo said.

"Rukia," Head Captain Ukitake said, turning his attention to the young woman. "I'm appointing you as the vice-captain of Squad Five. I think you'll do well in this position."

"Thank you sir," Rukia said in a quiet voice, accepting the badge that he held out to her.

Head Captain Ukitake nodded and then turned his attention back to Ichigo. The orange-haired Substitute Shinigami picked up on the look in Ukitake's eyes and began furiously shaking his head. "No. No, no, NO! Under no circumstances will I do this. I refuse. Find someone else."

"We took a vote on the subject," Head Captain Ukitake said, not the slightest bit deterred by Ichigo's adamant refusal to accept the position. "The majority fell to you. And if I might add, I'm not even the one who submitted your name for consideration."

Ichigo surveyed the room through narrowed eyes. No one stepped forward to accept blame for suggesting him to be a captain which was probably a good thing for them. "There's no way that I can be a captain," Ichigo maintained. "I'm not even a real Shinigami. In case you've forgotten, I'm still alive."

"I haven't forgotten," Ukitake said, an understanding expression in his kind eyes. "And I have a plan. This war made me rethink the protection of the world of the living and I have decided to turn Squad Five into a living world liaison squad. And this way you can lead from your own home."

Ichigo's jaw dropped, stunned by the depths to which Ukitake had thought this out. And as irritated as he was over the situation Ichigo couldn't help but be just the slightest bit impressed with the old man.

"And you'll have Rukia there to help you," Ukitake said, breaking into Ichigo's thoughts.

"Rukia," Ichigo said, his gaze shifting back to the young woman who was standing beside him. "Why not make her the Captain of Squad Five? She has Bankai."

"Wrong," Rukia said in a quiet voice. "I managed Bankai once, during the battle with the Espada, but I haven't been able to do it since. It was a fluke."

Ichigo groaned and ran a hand through his unruly orange hair. "Why did you have to tell him that?"

"I'm not going to lie!" Rukia snapped, whirling to face Ichigo, her violet eyes flashing fire.

"Okay," Ichigo said, holding up his hands in surrender. He hadn't meant to make her angry and had to admit that she scared him slightly when she was like this. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Rukia said quietly, thinking to herself that if he didn't accept the appointment as Squad Five Captain then the two of them wouldn't see each other very often. The war was over after all so there was no reason for them to be constantly training together. Without meaning to, or even realizing that she did it for that matter, Rukia sighed.

Hearing the sigh Ichigo's gaze shifted back to Rukia and he saw the faint look of sadness in her beautiful eyes. She was the new vice-captain of the squad that they wanted him to assume leadership of. Turning back to Head Captain Ukitake the young man shook his head, laughing slightly. "I know I'm gonna regret this later but it looks like I don't really have a choice in the matter. I'm outnumbered and I know it."

"You'll make a good captain," Ukitake said as he picked up a sleeveless white haori and placed it on Ichigo.

"Probably not," Ichigo said with a shrug. "We'll see. But I'm telling you this now, I'm only doing this until a more suitable candidate comes along."

"I can handle that condition," Ukitake said with a smile. Then the white-haired Captain of Squad One turned to face the other captains, who had remained silent while the debate had gone on. "By a show of hands, who approves the appointment of Ichigo Kurosaki to the post of Squad Five Captain?"

Ichigo watched in open mouthed amazement as hands were raised around the room. Even Byakuya and Renji, both of whom he had fought and beaten, raised their hands.

"Then it's official," Ukitake said. "Ichigo Kurosaki you are now officially the Captain of Squad Five." The Head Captain then briefly turned his attention once more to the other eleven captains. "You are all dismissed."

The captains all bowed to their superior and then turned as one and left the conference room, leaving Head Captain Ukitake alone with the new top officers of Squad Five.

"You know," Ichigo said once everyone else had left. "Ganging up on me like that really wasn't fair."

Gazing up at him with a look of pure innocence on her face Rukia asked, "What did I do?"

"Like you don't know," Ichigo said with an exaggerated sigh.

"I didn't do that," Rukia said indignantly. Then she paused, "Did I?"

Instead of answering her question Ichigo just started laughing. And after a couple of seconds Rukia joined in, although she was less sure about what exactly they were laughing about.

"Alright," Ukitake said once the two had recovered from their bout of laughter. "We're going to set up a barracks for the Squad Five members in the world of the living but whether or not you stay there is completely and entirely up for you."

Ichigo nodded, to show that he'd heard.

"And I'm going to make membership in Squad Five strictly voluntary," Ukitake said. "Since they're going to be permanently stationed in the world of the living I think that they should get a say in the matter."

"I agree," Ichigo said, nodding his head in approval. Having just effectively been forced to become a captain he was all for not forcing anyone else to do something that they didn't want to do.

"So having decided this it will probably take a couple of days to get your squad in order," Ukitake said. "But as soon as I have it finalized I will submit to you a complete and detailed list of your subordinates and their abilities."

"Okay," Ichigo said slowly, not having given much thought to the people that he would be in charge of.

"Don't worry Ichigo, you'll catch on quick enough," Ukitake said in a kind voice, offering the young man a reassuring smile.

"Sure," Ichigo said, not sounding at all convinced that Ukitake's words were the truth.

"Well that's about all that I needed to discuss with you," the Head Captain said, clapping Ichigo on the shoulder. "I'll see you in a couple of days Captain Kurosaki."

"That just sounds weird," Ichigo muttered as he turned to leave. Rukia bowed respectfully to the Head Captain and then jogged across the room to catch up with her new captain. An evil glint appeared in Ichigo's eyes as his gaze fell upon the petite girl who was walking beside him. "Now you HAVE to follow my orders."

"Of course Captain," Rukia said, the barest hint of sarcasm concealed in her voice.

"Yea," Ichigo said with a snort. "I thought that's how it was gonna be. Although I suppose I've earned it."

"Yes you have," Rukia said, punching him lightly on the arm.

"Aww," Ukitake thought to himself as he watched the new captain and vice-captain of Squad Five leave the conference room. "Shunsui was right, they really do make a cute couple."

"So should we go out and celebrate your promotion?" Ichigo asked as he and Rukia stepped out into the courtyard.

"Hell yes we're going out to celebrate!" a voice boomed out as Ichigo found himself in a choke hold.

"Dammit Renji," Ichigo swore as he grabbed his former rival by the arm and tossed him. "Get the hell off of me."

Rukia couldn't help but laugh as her childhood friend landed on the ground a few feet away. Then she noticed that a small group had gathered around them, among them Matsumoto, Hisagi and Hinamori. "So they made you a captain as well Rangiku-san?" Rukia asked as her gaze fell upon the strawberry blond.

Matsumoto nodded, subconsciously straightening the white haori that she hadn't yet become accustomed to wearing over her shihakusho. She had tied her pink scarf around her waist and Rukia noticed that she had a small blue dragon embroidered on the left side of her haori, over her heart.

The new Captain of Squad Ten followed Rukia's gaze and she smiled at the sight of the dragon. "I requested that when Head Captain Ukitake asked if I'd take over Squad Ten. It's technically against the dress code but since so many of us break that already. . ."

"Yea," Rukia said with a smile. "You bunch of trouble makers." She turned to Renji at this point, pinning him with a narrow-eyed gaze. "And you. . ."

"Hey," Renji said, holding up his hands and backing away from her. "What exactly did I do?"

"I finally make vice-captain and you have to become a captain." There was a scowl on her face but the light in her violet eyes belied her harsh words.

"Always one step ahead of you," Renji said, his expression smug. He had seen the light in her eyes and realized that she was just messing with him or else he more than likely wouldn't have had the courage to make this particular statement.

"And about a thousand steps behind me," Ichigo said, shoving his former rival out of the way and coming to stand beside Rukia.

"For now," Renji said.

"Come on guys," Matsumoto said, surveying the group with a smile. "Let's go and cause some trouble. They can't throw us all in jail."

"Well they can," a voice said from behind her. "But they won't. Believe me, I know."

Matsumoto turned around and watched as Captain Kyouraku walked up to them, followed closely behind by his vice-captain Nanao. "Shunsui!" she cried out, offering him a wide smile. "We're having a party. You and Nanao have to come."

"We're in," Kyouraku said, not even bothering to consult Nanao before he decided for both of them.

"They act like they're already drunk," Ichigo commented while Nanao rolled her eyes in her captain's direction. "I'm not sure we'll be able to stand them once they've actually had some alcohol."

"It's actually kind of funny," Hisagi said from his spot beside Hinamori. He and Kira had often gone drinking with Matsumoto and Kyouraku and he knew from experience how much fun it could be.

"If you say so," Ichigo said.

"Come on," Matsumoto said. "Why are we still standing around here? Let's go have some fun."

With that she and Kyouraku began walking and the others all fell into step behind them, some more reluctantly than others.

"Don't worry Captain," Rukia said, offering Ichigo a devilish smile. "I'll make sure that they don't contribute to the delinquency of a minor."

"Oh ha-ha," Ichigo muttered, rolling his eyes. He was beginning to suspect that her calling him captain in that sarcastic tone of voice was going to become a daily occurrence. _"What have I gotten myself into?"_

Only time would tell.

A/N - this one was so much fun to write. Poor Ichigo, didn't want to be a captain and was forced into it anyway. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please review and tell me what you thought. Til next time this is Hitsu-taichou signing out.


	5. Picking Up the Pieces

Disclaimer - I do not own Bleach

Chapter Five - Picking Up the Pieces

"I never realized that being a captain involved so much damn paperwork," Ichigo muttered as he sat at a desk in the upstairs office of his new home. Even though he was still only seventeen years old Ichigo had decided that since he was now a captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads he posed too much of a threat to remain with his family. He'd had similar thoughts during his days as a Substitute Shinigami but hadn't been home enough to act on those thoughts.

Rukia was staying with him of course, occupying the master bedroom while Ichigo had the smaller guestroom that was located down the hall. She'd wanted it to be the other way around but he'd won that particular argument.

Rukia gazed over at Ichigo from the spot where she was sitting at her own desk. "Being a captain is ninety percent management Ichigo. You have subordinates to go out and do the fighting for you."

"Ugh," Ichigo moaned, tossing his pen aside. "Managing is boring. Tell you what, you stay here and manage for awhile. I'm gonna go and check on those subordinates that you were talking about."

"What?!" Rukia exclaimed as she watched him get to his feet and walk toward the door. "Ichigo wait, you can't. . ."

But it was too late. Turning back to his vice-captain just long enough to offer her an evil grin Ichigo stepped out of the office. Rukia sighed as she pulled a stack of paperwork toward her and picked up a pen. "We've only had these positions for a week and already he expects me to do his job."

Having left Rukia alone to do the paperwork Ichigo left their house and traveled the short distance to the new Squad Five barracks. To the uninitiated the building looked like an abandoned school building, which it had actually been before the Shinigami took possession of it, however inside it had all the comforts of home, not to mention a bunch of spacious offices.

Ichigo stepped inside the building and was immediately approached by his third seat officer Ryuu Tomori. The man was a transfer from Squad Three and Ichigo had taken an instant dislike to him although he was unsure why that was. There was just something about the man that he didn't like, for whatever reason.

"Captain Kurosaki," Tomori said as he walked toward the orange-haired Captain of Squad Five. "And what brings you here so early sir?"

Ichigo still wasn't accustomed to being addressed so formally and wasn't entirely sure that he liked it. "Just checking up on you guys," he replied.

"We're all doing fine Captain Kurosaki," a soft, feminine voice called out cheerfully.

Ichigo's gaze shifted toward the new voice and he saw his fourth seat officer, Kaiya Maekawa, walking down the hallway toward him. "Hey Kaiya," he said, offering the young woman a smile. Now this subordinate he liked because she was very straight forward. With her you always knew where you stood.

"Did you leave Vice-Captain Kuchiki with the paperwork again?" Kaiya asked, a knowing look in her eyes.

Thinking about Rukia and the huge stack of paperwork that he'd left her with, Ichigo had the decency to look sheepish. "Yea, I kinda ran out on her."

Kaiya smiled. Only a week had passed since the formation of the living world liaison squad and yet it was already common knowledge among the squad members that Captain Kurosaki absolutely detested paperwork. The man could go out and fight Hollow all day but it killed him to sit down and fill out a report about that same battle.

"It's not like I would have been able to help with the paperwork for much longer anyway," Ichigo said in his own defense. "I have to get to class in about an hour."

Kaiya covered her mouth to hide the smile that appeared there. She found it highly amusing that her new captain had never gone to the Shinigami Academy and did, in fact, still attend a normal high school.

"Oh laugh it up," Ichigo said, although the light in his eyes belied his angry tone. "But I only have one year left and I'll be damned if I'm gonna quit now."

"Alright, alright," Kaiya said, holding up her hands in defeat. "Don't worry Captain, we'll keep the Hollow at bay until you get home from school."

Ichigo scowled at his subordinate but as he turned and walked away he realized that her playful banter was part of the reason why he liked her so much. Of all the Shinigami that he had met only she and Rukia treated him like a normal person.

Leaving the new Squad Five barracks Ichigo made his way toward Karakura High and before long he was joined by his three friends Orihime, Uryu and Chad.

"Hey!" Orihime called out in an excited voice as she and the others caught up with Ichigo. "How's the newest captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads?"

"Ruing the day that I ever let them talk me into taking this job," Ichigo muttered. "There's way too much damn paperwork involved."

"Oh suck it up Kurosaki," Uryu said, a smug expression on his face as he pushed his glasses further up on his nose. "You asked for it, now deal with it."

Ichigo glared at Uryu as he slowly pulled something from his pocket. Then, having given the matter a second thought, he quickly shoved it back in his pocket.

"What was that Ichigo?" Orihime asked, a curious expression in her eyes.

"My Gikongan," Ichigo replied. "I was going to assume my Shinigami form and beat Ishida to a bloody pulp but then I decided against it. Too many people around for him to get beaten up by no one. People might begin to wonder, which would be bad."

Orihime nodded and Ichigo hoped that she bought his excuse. The real reason why he didn't want to use the Gikongan in front of the others had to do with it's appearance. Kon had been replaced by a functional Gikongan however Rukia had made the request to Ukitake which had resulted in him getting one with a strawberry on the top.

"She does things like this just to torment me," Ichigo thought to himself as he pushed the Gikongan deeper into his pocket. "I know she does."

At that moment an image of Rukia appeared in his mind's eye and even the Rukia in his thoughts was laughing at him. "And that my friends is what we call karma," the orange-haired Shinigami said, shaking his head. And even though he knew that he'd asked for it Ichigo couldn't help but feel that it was slightly unfair.

As the quartet made their way toward Karakura High School Ichigo's gaze shifted to Orihime and Uryu. The two of them were walking side by side and after a little while Orihime slipped her hand into Uryu's. Ichigo's eyes widened as he watched Uryu grip her hand and give it a small squeeze and he found himself wondering when the two of them had grown so close. "When did that happen?" he thought to himself. "And where the hell was I?"

True he hadn't been around his friends much during the months leading up to the final battle with Aizen and the Espada but he hadn't even thought of the two of them getting together as a possibility. "Poor Orihime," Ichigo thought to himself. "She has bad taste."

Ichigo's thoughts were interrupted at this point by a familiar cry echoing through the air. The boy's gaze sought out the source of the noise and he uttered a curse as his gaze fell upon a huge Hollow. Completely forgetting the fact that he was embarrassed of the device the Squad Five Captain made a move to pull his Gikongan from his pocket however he paused as a black blur ran past him. Ichigo's eyes widened as he watched a man slice the Hollow's mask in half with a large sword.

"Damn," Ichigo muttered as the man sheathed his sword in one fluid motion and began to walk away. "Nice job man."

The strange Shinigami stopped short and whirled around to face Ichigo. There was a shocked expression in the man's green eyes and it was obvious that he was confused by the fact that Ichigo could see him.

"So what squad do you belong to?" Ichigo asked as he walked over to the spot where the man was standing.

Ichigo wouldn't have thought it possible but the man's eyes actually grew wider upon hearing these words. "Who are you?" the man asked warily.

"Oh sorry," Ichigo said, running a hand through his unruly orange hair. "I always forget to introduce myself. I'm Ichigo Kurosaki and I'm the new Captain of Squad Five."

"So you're the one who defeated Aizen huh?" the man said in a quiet tone. "If I'd known that I wouldn't have interfered."

"So which Squad are you in?" Ichigo asked again. "Cause I've never seen you before and I know that you're not in Squad Five."

"My name is Daisuke Kasaya and I'm a former member of Squad Twelve."

Ichigo arched a brow at this statement. "Former?" He'd only ever met two others who had been Shinigami but were no longer and couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the man.

Daisuke nodded as he turned to leave. "Nice to meet you Captain Kurosaki. Now that I know you're here I'll leave this area to you."

And with these words Daisuke used his flash-step and disappeared.

"Weird," Ichigo thought to himself as he continued to stare at the spot from which the man named Daisuke had vanished.

"Come on Kurosaki," a voice called out, breaking into Ichigo's thoughts about the strange Shinigami that he had just met. "If you don't move your ass then we're going to leave you behind because I'm not going to be late for class because of you."

Deciding that the mystery of the unknown Shinigami could wait until another time Ichigo turned and jogged back over to the spot where his friends were waiting. "I swear Uryu, one of these days I'm gonna have to kick your ass."

"As if you could," Uryu said, a smug expression on his face as he gazed over at his friend/rival.

"We really should hurry or else we're going to be late," Chad said in his customary, quiet voice.

Ichigo and Uryu ceased their arguing and together the group of friends traveled the remaining distance to Karakura High.

* * *

Meanwhile Rukia had managed to finish her own stack of paperwork and decided to take a short break before she began the work that Ichigo had abandoned. "I may as well do it," she muttered to herself as she prepared a cup of tea. "Cause I know he's not going to do it."

Once Rukia had her cup of tea in hand she made her way back upstairs to the small office that she and Ichigo shared. "I can't believe that Ichigo and I are actually in charge of one of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads," Rukia thought to herself as she sat down behind Ichigo's desk and sipped the steaming tea, feeling it's warmth spread throughout her body. "And he's captain and yet I still have to do all the work. There's definitely something wrong with this picture."

And yet despite her minor annoyance over the situation Rukia couldn't deny the fact that she was happier now than she'd been in a long time, maybe ever. The war was over and their side had emerged victorious, resulting in Ichigo becoming a captain. And this had resulted in the two of them being able to spend a lot more of their time together.

"Which is good most of the time," Rukia thought to herself.

After about fifteen minutes of relaxation and thought Rukia placed her teacup down on the edge of the desk to her right and then pulled Ichigo's stack of paperwork toward her. Here goes," she said with a small sigh, picking up a pen.

* * *

The school day passed by without incident, which Ichigo still wasn't completely accustomed to yet, and when the final bell rang he grabbed his things and quickly left. "I guess I should go and check on Rukia," he thought to himself as he exited the school building. "She's probably ready to kill me by now."

So, with this thought in mind, the orange-haired Captain of Squad Five made his way back to the small house that he and his vice-captain shared. It didn't take him long to cover the distance and as he stepped inside he called out, "Oi Rukia!"

Silence.

"What the hell?" Ichigo muttered, closing the door and making his way toward the stairs. He'd known that his earlier stunt was likely to piss her off but he still couldn't believe that she was actually ignoring him. After all that was just childish.

Taking the steps two at a time Ichigo made his way upstairs, calling out once again, "Rukia!"

Ichigo had raised his voice when calling out to her this time and yet there was still no response from his vice-captain.

Now Ichigo was somewhat concerned. Had she abandoned him, leaving him alone to do his own paperwork? Hurrying down the hall to their office Ichigo thrust the door open and gazed inside. The office was completely empty.

"She did abandon me," Ichigo muttered as he stepped inside the office. The Squad Five Captain's gaze swept around the room and fell upon a stack of paperwork that was sitting neatly in the center of his desk. His gaze locked on the papers Ichigo walked over to the desk and picked them up. Ichigo flipped through the paperwork and to his amazement he found that it had all been completed, right down to his beautifully forged signature at the bottom.

"Damn," he muttered to himself as he placed the papers back on his desk. "She must be channeling Toushirou or something. That's it, from now on paperwork is her official job."

Ichigo stood in front of his desk for a few minutes, debating what could have happened to his vice-captain. "I've probably stressed her out," he thought to himself finally, thinking back on the many times that he'd forced her to do his job in the short time that they'd been in charge of Squad Five.

* * *

After completing Ichigo's paperwork, as well as her own, Rukia had decided that she needed a break. She had decided on a walk and now found herself on the outskirts of Karakura Town. As she walked on the edge of a river Rukia was surprised as she felt the familiar electricity in the air that signified reiatsu. She surveyed her surroundings and saw only a young girl, walking along the same river only on the opposite bank. This young girl was the only other person around and it became apparent to Rukia that she possessed fairly strong reiatsu, at least from a human standpoint.

"Hmm," she thought to herself. "This could prove to be a problem."

Humans with high reiatsu were like a magnet for Hollow which meant that the girl could be in danger.

"Rukia!"

Her thoughts on the girl was interrupted as she heard a familiar voice calling out to her. Turning she saw Ichigo, in soul form, walking toward her with one hand held behind his back. "How did you find me?" Rukia asked, knowing that Ichigo had difficulty tracking people by their reiatsu.

"Apparently I'm getting better," Ichigo muttered.

"Okay," Rukia said. "So why exactly are you here Captain?"

"I was a little worried about you," Ichigo admitted. "I thought that maybe I'd finally pushed you too far and. . ."

"I'm sorry," Rukia said quickly, realizing that she had left without leaving so much as a note explaining to him where she had gone. "We'll have to get some communicators from Head Captain Ukitake so that this doesn't happen again."

"Okay," Ichigo said with a nod, his gaze focused on Rukia. Then he changed the subject. "So what exactly were you staring at when I walked up?"

Rukia turned to point at the young girl only to realize that she was gone now. There was absolutely no trace of her now even though she'd been there mere moments before. She turned back to face Ichigo. "There was a young girl with moderate reiatsu on the other side of the river. I was just thinking that she could be in danger."

"We'll tell the others to keep a sharp look out for her," Ichigo said in an attempt to ease Rukia's fears. "I'm sure between all of us we can find her and then protect her."

"Okay," Rukia said with a nod.

"So," Ichigo said, offering Rukia a smile. "Since we're here how about a date on the river?"

Rukia gaped at him. "You're kidding right?"

Ichigo shook his head as he pulled his arm from behind his back, revealing a wicker basket covered by a blanket. "I brought a picnic and thought that the two of us could share it."

Rukia's eyes widened even further before she smiled broadly. "I think that I would like that very much."

A/N- and thus ends another chapter. hope you enjoyed, please review and let me know what you thought. Til next time this is Hitsu-taichou signing out.


	6. Missions are Easy, Dating is Hard

Disclaimer - I do not own Bleach

Chapter Six - Missions are Easy, Dating is Hard

A couple of months had passed since his unwanted promotion and Ichigo was slowly but surely growing accustomed to being the Captain of Squad Five. After several failed attempts to do the paperwork that was part of his responsibility Ichigo finally gave it up as a lost cause and handed that responsibility over to his devoted vice-captain. Rukia was irritated with this at first however, after several fruitless arguments, she gave up wasting her breath and resigned herself to doing the paperwork that had to be completed even if her captain didn't want to do it.

"I swear," she muttered under her breath as she sat at her desk in their shared office, doing his paperwork for what felt like the millionth time. "One day I've going to get even with him for this. I don't know where, when or how but it will happen."

Completely unaware that Rukia was at that moment plotting her revenge against him Ichigo was walking across Karakura Town, his mind completely focused on the mission at hand. The orange-haired Captain of Squad Five was following the combined reiatsu of a large group of Hollow and was accompanied by his third, fourth and fifth seat officers.

Ichigo had informed his subordinates that he didn't need their help dealing with the Hollow however they had none the less insisted on following him. Used to the fact that people didn't listen to him Ichigo decided against arguing with them and merely continued to follow the traces of reiatsu until he and his lackies arrived on the outskirts of town. And sure enough they found a large group of Hollow assembled there, standing around as though they were plotting something.

"Alright," Ichigo said as he used his Substitute Shinigami badge to emerge from his body. Even though he possessed a Gikongan Ichigo preferred to use the badge and was loathe to remove the Gikongan from his pocket in front of other people. And he sure as hell wasn't going to use it in front of his subordinates. Shaking his head in an attempt to rid himself of the image of his embarrassing Gikongan Ichigo drew his zanpaktou in one fluid motion. "I could use a little fun. It's been kinda boring around here lately."

Ichigo leapt forward, holding up Zangetsu, and Tomori made a move to draw his own zanpaktou however Kaiya placed a restraining hand on the man's shoulder. "Stop," she said in a quiet voice. "The captain doesn't need your help with the likes of them and he probably doesn't want it either."

Tomori narrowed his eyes on the young girl, who was one rank below him and shouldn't be issuing orders to him, however he removed his hand from the hilt of his sword. Focusing his eyes on his captain he watched as Ichigo made short work of the group of Hollow, proving that he didn't need help.

"Ugh," Ichigo grumbled as he walked back over to the spot where his subordinates were standing. The Hollow hadn't even put up a decent fight and he was wholly disappointed with the poor excuse for a fight. "That was pathetic."

With a sigh the young captain returned to his body, which he had left lying on the ground. That was the one drawback to using his Substitute Shinigami badge, it didn't implant his body with a false soul as the Gikongan did. Which was the reason why he couldn't use it in an area that contained people. They tended to freak out when his body simply fell over, completely lifeless. He'd learned that lesson the hard way.

"You know captain," Kaiya said as the group turned and began the journey back to the Squad Five barracks. "You could have let us deal with those guys. It wasn't something that you needed to get involved with. We could have more than handled them and it is our job after all."

"I know," Ichigo said as he led the way across town. "But I was SO bored. I thought that this could offer some excitement but apparently I was wrong."

"Poor captain," Kaiya said as she followed him, a sympathetic look on her face.

Ichigo groaned again as he thought about the fact that Rukia was once again going to be irate with him for abandoning her with his paperwork in order to go chasing around after Hollow. And to make matters worse the Hollow hadn't even been worthy opponents, not even in a large group. Fighting with them had so not been worth her anger. "Hey guys," the Squad Five Captain called out, glancing over his shoulder at his three subordinates.

"Yes captain?" they said in unison, matching looks of confusion on their faces.

"Get lost."

Three sets of eyes widened in surprise but once they had recovered from their shock at this very blunt order they each made a move to obey their captain. He may be unorthodox to the extreme but he was still their captain and they would obey him without question.

The third and fifth seat officers quickly disappeared and, after a brief pause in which she gazed curiously at her captain, Kaiya made a move to follow.

"Wait," Ichigo said a split second before Kaiya used her flash-step.

"What is it Captain Kurosaki?" Kaiya asked, confused by the fact that he'd ordered them to leave and then stopped her before she had the chance to follow his order. What exactly was up with him?

Ichigo sighed at her insistence on addressing him with his formal title but knew from experience that it would be pointless to tell her to call him by his given name. He'd tried that several times already and always got the same results; a polite insistence that it wouldn't be proper for her to call him by name. "I think that Rukia may be angry with me."

Thinking about the countless times that Ichigo had abandoned Rukia with mounds of paperwork Kaiya gazed at her superior, thinking to herself that it was probably a very accurate assumption. "Whatever would give you an idea like that captain?"

"I'm serious," Ichigo said.

_"Well that's a first," _Kaiya thought to herself before forcing her facial features into a serious expression. "So what did you do to her?"

"I keep running off to fight Hollow," Ichigo confessed, not telling her anything that she didn't already know. "And leaving her to do the job that's supposed to be mine, even though I didn't really want it. Can you help me think of a way to make it up to her? I want to show her that I really do appreciate her."

Kaiya was caught completely off guard by this request and it took her a couple of minutes to recover from her shock and regain her composure. Clearing her throat the fourth seat officer said, "What did you have in mind?"

Ichigo nervously ran a hand through his unruly orange hair causing it to stick up even more than usual. "I have no idea."

Kaiya sighed.

"What?" Ichigo snapped, his brown eyes snapping fire. "I don't have any experience with things like this!"

"You fight Hollow all the time and you're nervous about a date?"

"Battles are easy," Ichigo muttered in his own defense. "All you have to do is determine the enemy and then destroy them."

"Alright," Kaiya said, realizing that this conversation wasn't really getting them anywhere. "So what does Kuchiki-san like to do?"

Ichigo held a thoughtful expression on his face as he thought about the question that she had posed. And for the first time he realized that he really didn't know that much about what Rukia's personal preferences were. It was true that the two of them had grown close but most of their time together had been spent either fighting or training for battle. "I. . . I don't really know."

"Okay then," Kaiya said, pulling on a lock of her hair as she thought about the dilemma. "We'll improvise. Come with me."

And without giving him time to protest Kaiya grabbed her captain by the hand and used her flash-step.

* * *

Rukia had finally managed to finish the mountain of paperwork that she had been left with when Ichigo ran off chasing Hollow and now she was sitting on a cushy sofa in the den of the home that she shared with her slacker captain. A glass of tea sat on a small end table beside her and she held an open book in front of her.

"Rukia!" a voice called out, suddenly shattering the silence.

"Of course," Rukia groaned as she placed her open book on the arm of the chair so that she wouldn't lose her place. She had just gotten to the good part of her romance novel so it was only natural that something should interrupt her. Shaking her head in annoyance she called out, "I'm in here captain."

"I really wish you'd stop calling me captain in that sarcastic tone of voice," Ichigo said as he walked into the room, his gaze immediately coming to rest on Rukia. She was using her gigai, as she often did when she wasn't attending to her duties, and Ichigo couldn't help but think that she looked lovely in the violet dress that was a perfect match for her eyes.

"And I really wish you'd do your own paperwork," Rukia countered, eying him suspiciously as he came to a stop in the doorway of the room. "But I just don't see either of us getting our wish any time soon."

Shaking his head Ichigo refused to be provoked, although it took every thing that he had to hold his tongue. Determined to follow the instructions that Kaiya had given him Ichigo walked across the room and held his hand out to Rukia. "Come with me."

"Is that an order captain?" Rukia asked, hesitating to give him her hand and fixing Ichigo with a questioning look.

"A request," Ichigo said.

Hesitating for only a second longer Rukia held her hand out to him and allowed Ichigo to help her to her feet. "So what exactly are you up to Ichigo?"

"You'll see," was all that Ichigo would say.

That statement only served to heighten Rukia's curiosity and she followed along warily as Ichigo led her toward the front door of their small house. Where exactly was he taking her and why wouldn't he tell her any of the details? The whole thing seemed suspicious to her.

_"What is he planning?" _she thought to herself as she followed along behind him.

"Rukia," Ichigo said in a quiet voice as he led the way across Karakura Town.

"What is it?" Rukia asked.

"I know that you probably think that I don't appreciate what you do," Ichigo said, his voice so low that Rukia had to strain to hear him. "But I just want you to know that. . . that I'd be. . . completely lost without you."

"What was that?" Rukia asked, placing a hand to her ear and turning to look sideways at Ichigo out of the corner of her eye. "I couldn't hear you."

Shaking his head Ichigo led the way around a corner and into the park. This only served to increase Rukia's curiosity over the situation however her violet eyes widened in surprise and delight as Ichigo led the way into a small clearing of trees and she saw that lights had been strung throughout the trees, light pink in color and shaped to look like cherry blossoms.

"Oh Ichigo," she gasped as she turned to hug him. "It's beautiful."

Ichigo wrapped his arms around her, thinking to himself that he really did owe Kaiya big time. She hadn't told him what she was going to do, only said that he and Rukia should come to the park at six o'clock. "You're awesome Kaiya."

A blanket had been spread out under one of the larger trees and Ichigo led Rukia over to it. With a wide smile on her face Rukia sat down on the blanket and Ichigo joined her, sitting slightly behind her. "Look," he said, pointing to the horizon.

Rukia followed his gaze and gasped as she saw the magnificent sunset. "This is perfect," she murmured as she leaned against Ichigo, enjoying the sunset and just being with him. Her eyes focused on the horizon she snuggled against Ichigo, resting the back of her head against his chest and feeling the warmth of his body against hers. She felt secure in his arms and wouldn't trade this feeling for anything in the world, even though he did annoy her sometimes. Okay most of the time to be completely honest.

"See?" Ichigo said, a mischievous grin on his face. He was enjoying the feel of Rukia's body pressed against his own, the heat of their bodies combining, and was still extremely grateful to Kaiya for tweaking the circumstances in his favor. "Maybe it's worth doing a little paperwork huh?"

Shaking her head but unable to contain her laughter Rukia elbowed him in the ribs. In this moment she couldn't believe that THOSE had been the first words that had came out of his mouth. "And you were doing so well captain."

"Ugh," Kaiya groaned from her spot in a nearby tree, slightly disappointed in her captain. "He was doing so well and then he just had to go and say something stupid like that. He's hopeless, completely and utterly hopeless. Oh well, I've done my part. From here on out the captain's on his own." And with that the young Shinigami used her flash-step and disappeared.

A/N - and here's chapter six. Sorry it took so long for the update but I have several projects on going and I'm trying to update everything so that people will be happy. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please review and tell me what you think. Til next time this is Hitsu-taichou signing out.


	7. Butterflies

Disclaimer - I do not own Bleach nor any of the characters. just having a little fun with them

Chapter Seven - Butterflies

Rukia had abandoned him earlier in the day and Ichigo was sitting in the office that the two of them shared, a glum expression in his brown eyes. A stack of paperwork lay on the desk in front of him and he gazed down at it as though the documents were poisoned and he would die a slow and excruciatingly painful death if he so much as touched them with one finger. Rukia had asked him to please have the forms completed when she returned from a vice-captain's meeting but Ichigo wasn't sure that he had it in him. He hated doing paperwork with every fiber of his being and Rukia knew this fact.

"I can't believe that she seriously expects for me to do this," Ichigo muttered to himself as he toyed with the pen that he held in his hand. He had been staring at the papers for the last half an hour and so far nothing had happened.

This was the part he hated about being captain. Fighting Hollow he could handle, hell after Aizen everything that he encountered was easy, but sitting in a stuffy office filling out forms was almost more than he could take. Ichigo began grumbling to himself as he pulled one of the hated forms toward him however before his pen touched the paper a black butterfly with pink markings flew through the open window.

Ichigo's gaze instantly focused on the butterfly and he watched as it flew across the room toward him.

Now Ichigo was familiar with the Hell butterflies that the Shinigami used to relay messages to one another but they always gravitated to Rukia so he had no experience with them. Unsure about how to proceed the Squad Five Captain held out his finger but the butterfly merely hovered in the air at eye level.

Ichigo's eyes went slightly crossed as he gazed at the butterfly, confused.

"Ichigo,"

Ichigo jumped as he heard Rukia's disembodied voice seemingly coming from the butterfly. This was a new development, the butterflies had never came with audio before, and Ichigo found himself wondering if this was a new invention of the Technology Bureau or something.

"I'm going to be later than expected so you have a little more time to complete your paperwork." Slight pause. "You are working on your paperwork right? Remember Ichigo, you promised."

"Man," Ichigo muttered as he watched the butterfly retreat, going back out the same window that it had entered through. "Even the bugs are on me to do this damn paperwork."

Muttering darkly to himself Ichigo once again picked up the pen and pulled one of the hated forms toward him. He had promised Rukia that he would finish this paperwork before she returned from her meeting in Soul Society and he would not go back on that promise. But he hadn't promised to enjoy it and he felt the need to utter a couple of swear words. It helped to relieve some of the stress.

"Why do they have to have so much damn paperwork anyway?"

* * *

With her meeting over with Rukia was on her way toward the Senkaimon that would take her home. The vice-captain's meeting had ran longer than expected and she needed to get back to the world of the living to make sure that Ichigo hadn't gotten into any trouble while she was away. He was supposed to be doing his paperwork but with Ichigo it was far from a certainty that he was actually doing it. In fact he was far more likely to be out battling the random Hollow that were still dumb enough to venture to Karakura Town.

"He had better not be slacking off," Rukia muttered to herself as she arrived in Karakura Town and made her way to the small house that she and Ichigo shared.

As soon as Rukia arrived at the house she quickly made her way upstairs to the office. Opening the door she stepped inside and when her eyes adjusted to the semi-darkness of the room she saw that Ichigo was asleep, his head resting on a stack of papers on the desk.

Rukia sighed, shaking her head. Honestly, she really should have expected it but Ichigo had promised that he would complete the paperwork. It had to be turned in to Head Captain Ukitake at a captain's meeting tomorrow and that meant that she would be up all night finishing it. Why did he insist on being like this?

"Ichigo. . ." she muttered as she walked toward the desk.

"What?" a groggy voice asked, startling her.

Rukia was forced to smile as Ichigo raised his head, bringing a piece of paper along with him. The top document of the pile was stuck to his cheek and when he raised his head up it came along with him. Shaking her head yet again she walked over and pulled the piece of paper from his face and as she did so her violet eyes noticed something unusual.

The document was complete.

With a small gasp Rukia seized the stack of paperwork from the desk and began thumbing through it. Her surprise grew with each completed form that she scanned and by the time she reached the last one in the stack she was completely at a loss for words.

Ichigo had actually finished the entire stack of paperwork.

"You don't have to look so surprised," Ichigo said, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. He hadn't meant to fall asleep and the short nap didn't seem to have done him any good. "I told you that I'd do it so I did it."

"I'm sorry that I doubted you Captain," Rukia said as she patted Ichigo on the head.

"Again with the sarcasm." Ichigo pulled away from her touch before she messed his hair up worse than it already was. It never failed; whenever she called him captain there was always a sarcastic quality to her voice. "So how was your meeting?"

"About the same as always," she replied as she sat down at her own desk. She had her own paperwork to get done, having been busy with the Shinigami Women's Association this month. Opening a drawer she pulled out the folder that contained her own paperwork and, placing it on the desk, she opened it and pulled out the contents.

Rukia picked up her pen and prepared to fill out her papers only to find that they were complete as well. The only thing missing was her signature at the bottom. Gasping a little in surprise she gazed over at Ichigo, who wore a little smirk on his face.

"I would have finished it completely but I haven't learned to forge your signature yet." A roguish grin appeared on his face as he said this. The expression probably had something to do with the fact that Rukia could forge his signature perfectly, owing to the fact that she usually did his paperwork.

"I can't believe you did this," Rukia said, her voice filled with amazement. It had been a stretch to get Ichigo to do his own paperwork and yet he had. And not only that but he'd finished hers as well. All thoughts of a long night vanished and Rukia couldn't help but smile. Getting to her feet she walked over to Ichigo's desk and pulled him into a hug.

"Thank you," she murmured before touching her lips gently to his.

_"Wow," _Ichigo thought to himself as Rukia kissed him. _"Maybe I should do paperwork more often."_

* * *

The next day Ichigo was walking down the street, on his way to the Squad Five barracks to check on his subordinates, when he was once again approached by one of the Hell butterflies. Curious as to whether or not this one was like the other one Ichigo merely stared at the butterfly as it hovered in the air in front of his face. And sure enough he heard a disembodied voice coming from nowhere.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, your presence is requested in Soul Society immediately."

Instinctively Ichigo glanced down at the watch that he was wearing and his eyes widened as he saw what time it was. Having been rounding up Hollow most of the morning he had completely lost track of the time and was surprised at how late it was.

"Shit!" he exclaimed, quickly pulling his Gikongan from his pocket and using the embarrassing device to switch into his Shinigami form. He was supposed to have reported for the captain's meeting a half an hour ago. "I hope Ukitake doesn't hold a grudge."

After giving the Gikongan that was now in control of his body instructions to go home the Squad Five Captain hurried to the headquarters of his squad. That was the location of the nearest Senkaimon and he didn't really want to be any later to the meeting.

"Running late today Captain?" Kaiya asked, offering her superior a smile, as Ichigo dashed past her.

"You could say that," Ichigo called out over his shoulder, in too much of a hurry to stop and explain the situation to her. "I'm supposed to be in a meeting right now."

Kaiya laughed as she watched her captain disappear out of sight. The man was never on time and the other captains really should know that by now.

As soon as Ichigo arrived in Soul Society he made his way to the Squad One barracks, where the captain's meetings were always held. Sliding the door open he stepped into the room and all eyes immediately focused on him.

"Nice of you to join us Captain Kurosaki," Head Captain Ukitake said, his gaze following Ichigo as he walked across the room. His tone was neutral however there was a smile on his face that told Ichigo that he wasn't really angry over the fact that he'd been late.

"Sorry," Ichigo said as he took his place in line. "I got caught up fighting Hollow."

"You mean there are still Hollow in Karakura?" Renji seemed somewhat shocked by this little piece of information. He'd thought for sure that Ichigo would have taken care of all of them by now as much as he liked to fight them. After all that was his favorite way of avoiding his paperwork, according to Rukia.

"A few," Ichigo said.

"Alright," Ukitake said, addressing the group and immediately gaining their attention. "Now that Captain Kurosaki has joined us let's begin."

Forcing himself to ignore the look that Renji was giving him, Ichigo focused his attention on the Head Captain. And as he listened to Ukitake speak he found himself hoping that the meeting didn't take long. He simply didn't have the attention span for things like this.

_"Please let this end quickly," _he thought to himself, already having to fight the urge to let his mind wander. These meetings were always boring and were only slightly better than doing paperwork.

* * *

As the week progressed Ichigo found himself suddenly bombarded by Hell butterflies, most of which contained messages from Rukia. He had never had to deal with this before but Rukia seemed to have decided that it was the best way to relay messages, even though they had recently been issued communicators by Head Captain Ukitake. Rukia seemed to prefer the Hell butterflies and used them frequently. Ichigo wasn't sure he liked this method of communication and he quickly learned to judge her moods by how the messages started out. Just by listening to the first couple of words he could tell whether or not he was in trouble.

Ichigo was in one of the Squad Five offices, talking to Kaiya, when one of the Hell butterflies entered the office. Both officers gazed at the butterfly, which immediately fluttered over to the spot where Ichigo was seated. The Squad Five Captain gazed at it expectantly.

"Captain Kurosaki. . ."

Without even waiting to hear the rest of the message Ichigo reached up and quickly smashed the butterfly between his hands. Phwap!

"Captain!" Kaiya exclaimed, fixing her captain with a shocked look. She couldn't believe that he'd just squashed one of the Hell butterflies. This was weird even by her captain's standards. She stared at him with wide eyes. "Why did you do that? What if the message was important?"

"It wasn't," Ichigo said without hesitation, wiping his hands on his pants. A smile appeared on his face as he saw how freaked out normally easy going Kaiya had became. It was obvious to him that she'd never seen anyone rid themselves of a Hell butterfly in that manner.

"How do you know?" Kaiya wanted to know.

"Because any message of real importance always starts out with Ichigo and then goes from there," Ichigo replied, having learned that during his research on the butterflies. After all, he'd received a lot of messages over the past week. "No one calls me captain at the beginning of a message except for Rukia. And she only does it when she's angry."

Kaiya's mouth formed a silent "o" and she nodded. What her captain said made sense but she still thought that he should listen to the message. If Rukia was angry now it would only make her angrier if Ichigo ignored her messages. She didn't tell her captain any of this however.

That was something that he'd have to learn on his own.

A/N - and there's chapter seven. I fore see Ichigo getting into trouble over this one but oh well. He wouldn't be Ichigo if he didn't. Hope you enjoyed, please review and tell me what you thought. Til next time this is Hitsu-taichou signing out.


	8. Strawberries, Bunnies and Bad Artwork

Disclaimer - I do not own Bleach

Chapter Eight - Strawberries, Bunnies and Bad Artwork

After returning to the world of the living after her meeting in Soul Society, a meeting that Ichigo was supposed to attend although he didn't seem to have gotten the message, Rukia made her way to the house that she shared with her slacker of a captain. Upon entering the house Rukia immediately realized that things were too quiet and after a brief search of the house she found out why.

Ichigo was nowhere to be found.

"Where is he?" Rukia asked herself as she made her way back downstairs. After a moment of thought the Squad Five vice-captain decided that she'd check the Squad Five barracks. Maybe he'd decided to check up on his subordinates. After all Ichigo did feel the need to keep an eye on Tomori so that the moron didn't get himself killed, either by a Hollow or more likely by his fellow squad members.

"What did I ever do to deserve this?" Rukia asked herself under her breath as she made her way down the sidewalk toward the abandoned school building that now housed Squad Five. Ichigo was supposed to be the captain of their squad and yet she always seemed to get stuck with all of the important assignments. If it didn't involve fighting then her captain wasn't even remotely interested.

"I think Squad Five is all wrong for him," she muttered as she walked. "He should challenge Ikkaku for the captaincy of Squad Eleven."

A small smile appeared on her face as she imagined Ichigo and Ikkaku engaged in battle. The new Captain of Squad Eleven was actually desperate to fight and defeat Ichigo because it was the only battle that Kenpachi had never won. Ikkaku seemed to think that if he defeated Ichigo in combat then that would somehow make him more worthy to fill the shoes of his former captain.

"I don't know if it would make him more worthy or not," Rukia thought to herself, a small smile forming on her face. "But it would definitely be entertaining for the rest of us."

* * *

"So Captain," Kaiya said as she placed a bowl of fruit in the center of a large table that was located in the middle of the Squad Five dining room. "Aren't you worried about what Vice-captain Kuchiki is going to do when she finds out that you didn't listen to the messages that you sent?"

Ichigo shook his head, not even remotely concerned about the prospect. "She won't find out about what happened to the Hell butterflies. I'll just tell her that I didn't get the messages."

Kaiya didn't really think that Rukia would buy that excuse however she chose not to say anything to her captain. If he wanted to take his chances and get into trouble then it wasn't really any business of hers. With a shrug the fourth seat officer reached out and grabbed a strawberry.

"There you are."

Both Ichigo and Kaiya glanced toward the door and saw that Rukia had just entered the room. She had an annoyed expression in her violet eyes as she walked toward her superior officer. "And why exactly didn't you show up for the meeting?"

"What meeting?" Ichigo asked, a pretty convincing look of innocence plastered all over his face as he took a couple of steps toward his vice-captain. He had been practicing his acting skills as of late and now they would be put to the test.

"What do you mean what meeting?" Rukia asked as she walked over to her captain and grabbed him by the shirt. Her eyes narrowed menacingly as she stared at him. "I sent you like five messages telling you that your presence was required in Soul Society. Are you telling me that none of those hell butterflies made it?"

"I guess not," Ichigo said with a shrug.

Rukia sighed however anything that she might have said was interrupted when the door opened once again and Tomori stepped inside, looking slightly annoyed about something. "Captain Kurosaki," the third seat said, the sarcasm in his voice barely hidden. "Can you please stop crushing those Hell butterflies? I'm getting tired of sweeping up their remains."

"Dammit!" Ichigo muttered, clenching his hands into fists in an attempt to fight the urge to kill his third seat. Looking briefly in Kaiya's direction the Squad Five Captain mouthed, "Remind me to kill him later."

All Kaiya had time to do was nod her head ever so slightly before all hell broke loose.

"So," Rukia said, turning back toward her captain and fixing him with a piercing gaze. "You didn't get the messages huh?"

"Technically I really didn't get the messages," Ichigo said, a sweat drop appearing on the side of his head. "All I heard was Captain Kurosaki. . ."

"Ugh!" Rukia exclaimed, throwing up her hands in exasperation.

"I'm sorry," Ichigo said, fixing Rukia with his brown eyed gaze.

"Sure," Rukia said, shaking her head. "For that the next time there's a meeting you're going by yourself."

"But. . ." Ichigo was silenced by a mere look from Rukia and he bowed his head, realizing that he was getting off easy. "Alright, I guess I deserve that."

"Yes captain you kinda did," Kaiya said from her spot at the table. There was a wide smile on her face as she turned her attention to the Squad Five vice-captain. "So Rukia-san, would you like a strawberry?"

"Sure," Rukia said, walking over to the table and taking one of the offered fruit. Rukia popped the small piece of fruit into her mouth and smiled at it's sweetness.

"Weird," Ichigo muttered, completely shocked by Rukia's abrupt mood change. She was acting as though nothing had happened even though she'd been ready to kill him mere minutes ago. Thinking to himself that he should probably take advantage of the situation Ichigo walked over to the spot where the two women were standing and offered Rukia his hand. "Would you like to go for a walk so that I can make it up to you for my earlier screw-up?"

Rukia thought about the proposal for a few minutes before she finally nodded her head and accepted Ichigo's proffered hand.

"You guys have fun," Kaiya said with a smile as she watched her two superiors walk toward the door. "And don't kill him Rukia-san cause it'll look suspicious if you do since you'll be the last person that he was seen with."

"I'll keep that in mind," Rukia called out over her shoulder while Ichigo exclaimed, "Don't give her advice about things like that!"

Anxious to get himself out of trouble over the whole Hell butterfly incident Ichigo led the way to the small park and together he and Rukia walked down a small nature trail. As the couple walked hand in hand Rukia drew in a delighted breath as a couple of rabbits hopped onto the trail a couple of feet ahead of them.

"Aw," Rukia exclaimed as she gazed at the rabbits.

Ichigo had never understood this fascination that Rukia seemed to have with rabbits however the fact that she had seen this couple seemed to have improved her mood and for that he was grateful. It looked as though this idea had been one of his better ones.

"It's so beautiful out here," Rukia breathed happily as she watched the two rabbits frolicking around the trail. "Thanks for bringing me here Ichigo."

"You're welcome," Ichigo whispered back, taking Rukia's hand in his. Then he caught a movement out of the corner of his eye and as his gaze shifted he caught sight of something that he knew would delight his companion immensely. "Look Rukia," he whispered as he pointed to a clump of bushes.

Rukia's gaze followed Ichigo's pointing finger and she drew in her breath as she caught sight of a trio of baby rabbits. "Oh, they're so adorable!"

"Thought you'd like that," Ichigo said with a smile.

Ichigo and Rukia stood on the trail watching the rabbits until the small family made their way back into the bushes and then Rukia turned and gave Ichigo a hug. Ichigo wasn't sure what had spawned this action however in this moment he found that he didn't care what had caused it.

Wrapping his arms around Rukia he merely enjoyed the closeness that they shared.

"Well," Rukia said after enjoying a few minutes secure in Ichigo's arms. "I suppose we should be heading back. We, and by we of course I mean I, have a lot of paperwork to get done."

"I'll help," Ichigo said sullenly. He wasn't thrilled about the prospect of forcing himself to complete stacks of boring and meaningless paperwork however he was already in enough trouble over the butterflies. He didn't want to press his luck at this point.

Rukia's eyes lit up. She was completely shocked by his words and made absolutely no effort to hide her surprise. "Really?"

Ichigo nodded and once again took her by the hand. "Come on, let's go."

Rukia smiled and together the two Squad Five officers made their way back to the house that they shared. When they arrived there they immediately made their way upstairs to the office that they shared and for awhile they worked on paperwork in silence.

"You don't know what this means to me Ichigo," Rukia said after awhile, glancing up from her work and fixing him with a loving gaze.

"It's no problem," Ichigo said as he signed his name to the bottom of yet another pointless form. He was bored out of his mind but he didn't want Rukia to know that fact. Just this once he had vowed to complete his own paperwork without complaint.

It was taking every ounce of willpower that he possessed but he was determined to do it.

With the two of them working together it only took about an hour for the two of them to complete the paperwork and then Ichigo and Rukia made their way downstairs to the den. Ichigo sat down on the sofa and flipped on the television while Rukia picked up a pad of paper and a pencil.

Sitting down beside him Rukia placed a pack of colored pencils on the end table beside her and worked in silence for a little while. Then, once she had completed the picture that she had been working on Rukia once again turned to Ichigo. "Hey Ichigo."

"What is it Rukia?" Ichigo asked, his gaze shifting from the television over to her.

"I just wanted to thank you again," Rukia said in a quiet voice, gazing at him with a tender look in her violet eyes. "For earlier."

"I told you that you don't. . ."

"But I want to," Rukia maintained, holding up the pad of paper that she had been working on. The first page contained a picture of what he interpreted to be the two of them, looking a lot like overgrown rabbits with clothes, walking hand in hand. There were little hearts floating above the heads of the rabbit people and Ichigo blushed profusely.

And then he said something that he would be regretting for the rest of the night.

"We have got to get you some drawing lessons or something because your drawings are still terrible."

Ichigo knew that he had screwed up the moment the words escaped his lips but at that point it was too late to take them back. Attempting to swallow around the lump that had grown in his throat Ichigo slowly raised his gaze to meet Rukia's.

He cringed as fire virtually snapped from her violet eyes.

"I. . ." he stammered, as he felt the room's temperature drop by at least a half dozen degrees. "I'm sorry."

Rukia calmly got to her feet and then slapped him in the side of the head with the pad of paper. Then, without so much as a word to him, she walked out of the room.

"Stupid," Ichigo muttered as he rubbed the spot on his head where Rukia had clubbed him with her sketchbook. "Stupid, stupid, stupid."

"I can't believe the nerve of that guy," Rukia muttered darkly to herself as she trudged up the stairs, her sketchbook cradled under her arm. "One of these days I'm gonna. . ."

At this point Rukia couldn't help the laughter that spilled forth. It was such a typical Ichigo screw up and she smiled as she recalled the look on his face when he realized what he'd said. "He really is hopeless," she thought to herself as she entered her bedroom and placed her sketchbook on the nightstand.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed Rukia thought back to the time that she and Ichigo had spent together, preparing for the war with Aizen, and a soft smile appeared on her face. "And I wouldn't have it any other way."

A/N - poor Ichigo, he screwed up again. I'd say maybe he'll learn eventually but for those of you who have read Reincarnation you all know that it simply isn't the case. Maybe Kaiya can give him some pointers later. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please review and share your thoughts. Til next time this is Hitsu-taichou signing out.


	9. An Undeniable Truth

Disclaimer - I do not own Bleach

Chapter Nine - An Undeniable Truth

Ichigo had grown accustomed to the every day duties of being one of the captains of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads but that didn't mean that he enjoyed doing paperwork anymore than he had when the job had first been thrust upon him. But what he did enjoy was the time that he and Rukia spent together in their small office, working and talking with one another.

Those moments were worth the headache caused by the paperwork.

Not that he was willing to share that knowledge with Rukia. He was way too afraid that she would take advantage of that little piece of information and as a result of this fact Ichigo guarded the secret most zealously. Should Rukia ever find out the consequences would be dire.

In the time that the two of them had spent together, both before and after the Winter War, Ichigo had grown to cherish the moments that they spent together. Even if they were training or working on the boring ass paperwork that came along with being in charge of a squad if he was with her then Ichigo was happy.

And it had taken him until now to realize this face.

Somewhere along the lines he had developed feelings for Rukia Kuchiki. Ichigo shuddered as an unwelcome face appeared in his thoughts, a disapproving scowl on his face. This fact would not make Byakuya happy however Ichigo found that he didn't care.

He had dealt with Byakuya before and for Rukia he was willing to fight the Squad Six Captain again.

"Ichigo."

Rukia's voice broke into his thoughts and the Squad Five Captain glanced up to see his vice-captain standing in the doorway, looking lovely as always.

"What were you in such deep thought about?" Rukia asked as she walked across the room and sat down at her desk, a small smile on her face. "I'm not used to that from you."

"It was nothing," Ichigo said quickly, picking up his pen and signing his name to the last of his paperwork.

"Of course it was nothing," Rukia said, her tone slightly mocking. She didn't believe his words however she knew that when he was like this he wouldn't tell her anything. So she opted to change the subject. "So have you finished that report for Head Captain Ukitake?"

This was one of the first times that Ichigo could proudly answer yes to such a question and he held up a stack of papers in triumph. "Yes I did!"

Rukia was amused by his enthusiasm and she offered him a smile as a reward for all of his hard work. "That's great Ichigo." Now she wouldn't have to yell at him to finish the report which was always a plus for the both of them.

Ichigo nodded, getting to his feet and walking over to the spot where she was sitting. "Since I know that you're already finished with your paperwork how would you like to go out for a little while? I think that you could use a break, you look tired."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rukia demanded.

"It means that I think you've been working too hard dummy," Ichigo replied, not having realized that she was going to over react to such a simple statement.

"And who are you calling a dummy, you dummy?"

"You," Ichigo said simply, catching Rukia by the hand and pulling her to her feet. For a brief moment Rukia appeared as though she were going to fight against him however as Ichigo pulled her toward him the young woman willingly fell into his arms.

Without thinking about any possible repercussions Ichigo wrapped his arms around Rukia and gently touched his lips to hers. He meant it to be a tender kiss however as he attempted to pull back Rukia placed her hand on the back of his head, holding him in place.

The tender kiss soon turned to pure passion and when the two finally parted lips Ichigo found that he was slightly out of breath. "Rukia," he began as he took a couple of deep breaths. "That was. . ."

"Wonderful," Rukia supplied, smiling at him.

"Yea," Ichigo agreed, once again taking Rukia by the hand. "Come on. I still maintain that you need to take a break. You work to hard and before you even say anything I fully realize that most of that is my fault. I'm sorry but it's just really hard for me to bring myself to do paperwork."

"It's alright Ichigo," Rukia said in a quiet voice as she allowed him to lead her downstairs and out of the house. "It's not like you asked for this position in the first place." Ichigo gaped at her but her understanding was short lived. "But it would still be nice if you helped me a little more often."

"I'll try," Ichigo said.

Rukia smiled, knowing that this was really all that she could ask for. And the young Shinigami knew that even if Ichigo refused to complete another form she would remain by his side and she would do the work for both of them. At some point he had became an integral part of her life and she couldn't, no she didn't want to imagine a life without him.

For him she would sacrifice everything.

"So where would you like to go?" Ichigo asked, breaking into Rukia's thoughts.

Rukia merely shrugged. "This little trip was all your idea Ichigo. Therefore I think that you should be the one who chooses where we go. And it had better not be any place lame either."

"Lame!" Ichigo exclaimed. "Just for that little comment I should take you to the most boring place that I can think of."

"But you won't," Rukia said, her voice filled with certainty as she gazed at him with her lovely violet eyes.

"You're right," Ichigo was forced to admit. "I won't. But I should."

Rukia's laughter rang out around them as she skipped in a circle around Ichigo. It had been so long since the two of them had gotten out and had any fun and she found that she was really looking forward to this impromptu date.

Ichigo had been right, she did need a break. Jumping forward she pulled him into her arms and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"I wonder if this could be called fraternizing with your superior," a sing-songy voice called out, startling Ichigo and Rukia and bringing the two of them back to reality. They had briefly forgotten the fact that they were out in public and wearing gigais on top of that.

They were in plain view of everyone.

"Kaiya!" Ichigo exclaimed as his gaze fell upon his fourth seat officer. The young woman was standing a few feet away from her two superiors, a broad smile on her face as she watched them. "What are you doing here?"

"I was out on Hollow patrol," Kaiya replied, the grin never leaving her face. "And then I saw the two of you acting like love struck high school students and I couldn't help but stop. Sorry Captain Kurosaki but it was just too much to pass up."

A blush came to light up Rukia's face and Ichigo thought that she looked cute when she was embarrassed. "Oi Kaiya, I'm actually glad that you showed up. You're in charge of Squad Five for the day. Rukia and I have a mission that is going to keep us busy for the rest of the day."

"A mission," Kaiya repeated, her eyes dancing. "Right. But why are you leaving me in charge Captain? Tomori's the second in command so shouldn't he. . ."

"Hell no!" Ichigo exclaimed, gaping at the young woman as though she had completely lost her mind. "There is no way in hell that I'm leaving him in charge of my squad."

"But in case anyone asks," Rukia said in a calm voice. "Just tell them that the Captain and I had to leave in a hurry and you were the first one that we found. 'Kay Kaiya?"

"Sure thing Vice-captain," Kaiya said, thinking to herself that Captain Kurosaki had at some point corrupted his vice-captain/girlfriend. "Captain Ichigo really is a bad influence on her," the young woman thought to herself as she watched her superiors walking away. "Have fun on your mission!" she called out in the same sing-songy voice that she'd used to greet them.

Ichigo waved at his subordinate over his shoulder and then slipped his hand into Rukia's. He really didn't get to spend enough time with her and this was the perfect opportunity to fix that problem. This day would be for just the two of them.

The Captain of Squad Five led the way to the outskirts of Karakura Town, to a peacefully flowing river. Rukia's eyes were shining and together she and Ichigo sat down on the bank of the river, each staring out at the water and lost in their own thoughts.

Rukia knew, as it seemed that she had somehow always known, that this was the man that she was destined to spend the rest of her life with. Yet, although she knew that he had feelings toward her, she wasn't certain that Ichigo would share that sentiment.

And though she wanted to tell him how she felt she was somewhat afraid to. That small fear of rejection forced her to maintain her silence, even though she wanted to tell the man beside her how she really and truly felt about him.

"Um Rukia. . ."

Rukia's thoughts were returned to the here and now by the sound of Ichigo's voice and she turned to face him, a questioning look in her violet eyes. "Yes?"

Ichigo cleared his throat, as though he were nervous. "I was. . . you like spending time with me right?"

"Yes," Rukia replied, vaguely wondering where this conversation was headed. And why exactly Ichigo seemed so nervous, when that was way out of character for him.

Ichigo took a deep breath, deciding to just go for it and put everything on the line. "Will you go out with me?"

Rukia was instantly confused by this half shouted question. "But I am out with you."

"Of course it wouldn't be this easy," Ichigo thought to himself, smiling wryly. He sometimes forgot that Rukia grew up in Soul Society and didn't know a lot of the phrases used in his world. Taking Rukia's hand in his own he tried again. "No, what I meant was. . . will you be my girlfriend?"

Rukia's eyes widened, rendered completely speechless by this question. This was the last thing that she had been expecting and yet. . .

"I'm sorry," Ichigo said, thinking that he had offended her. "Just forget that I said anything."

"You're so stupid," Rukia said, giving the hand that she held in her own a gentle squeeze. Ichigo lifted his brown gaze to meet her violet one and he saw a light in her eyes. "Of course I want to be your girlfriend. I was just shocked by the question, it was kind of sudden."

"You will?" Ichigo said. "You'll be my girlfriend?"

"Happily," Rukia murmured. She loved Ichigo with all of her heart, there could be no denying that fact, and his question had relieved all of the fears that she'd had. He had feelings for her as well and her pulse rate quickened, thrilled by this knowledge.

"Rukia," Ichigo murmured, reaching over and gently touching his new girlfriend on the chin. Rukia turned to face him once more and the young man leaned forward and once again touched her lips with his own. And this time he made absolutely no attempt to make it a short, tender kiss.

This time he put all of the passion that he held for her into the kiss.

There was a broad smile on Rukia's face as the two of them finally separated back into two separate beings and she leaned against him, placing her head on his chest. She was content in his embrace and couldn't imagine being happier.

"Hey Rukia. . ."

"What is it Ichigo?"

"Do you think we could maybe keep this a secret from Byakuya?"

All Rukia could do was laugh.

A/N - and there's the end of another chapter. Hope you enjoyed, please leave a review and tell me what you thought. Til next time this is Hitsu-taichou signing out.


	10. Fear of Death

Disclaimer - I do not own Bleach

Chapter Ten - Fear of Death

"Come on Ichigo," Rukia said as she pulled on his arm, practically dragging him to the permanent Senkaimon that had been set up in their basement. "You're the one who asked me out. The least you can do is have the balls to tell my brother that we're dating."

"Have the balls?" Ichigo repeated, momentarily forgetting their destination as he turned questioning brown eyes to his girlfriend of three days. "Where the hell did you learn to talk like that?"

"Karin," Rukia replied, using his momentary distraction to her advantage. Giving one final, mighty tug she succeeded in pulling Ichigo down the stairs. Unfortunately he lost his balance on the second step and tumbled down the stairs, landing in a heap at the bottom.

"What the hell?" Ichigo exclaimed, jumping to his feet and glaring at her. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"It was just a little tumble down the stairs you baby," Rukia said as she once again seized him by the hand and pulled him over to the Senkaimon. "And besides, it's not like anything would really change if you died."

"Little tumble my ass," Ichigo grumbled, rubbing the side of his head where a knot was already beginning to form. "I'm lucky I didn't break my neck."

"Ugh," Rukia groaned as she placed her hand on the Senkaimon and released a measured flow of reiatsu. The frame began to glow seconds before the portal to Soul Society opened. "Stop your whining and come on."

It was in that moment that Ichigo remembered where they were going and why it was that they had to go there. Screaming out his protests he turned and attempted to flee however Rukia anticipated this action and reaching out she caught the back of his shihakusho.

"Oh man," Ichigo thought to himself as he was pulled into the Senkaimon. He wasn't ready to die just yet, despite the fact that it really wouldn't change all that much, and he didn't want to tell Byakuya that he was currently dating the man's sister. While it was true that he had defeated the Squad Six Captain in the past he didn't relish the thought of having to fight him again. After all he may be more of a challenge while fighting for his sister. "I really don't wanna do this!"

"Deal with it," Rukia told him. "If you and I are going to be together then we have to tell my brother."

"Why?" Ichigo demanded, once again fighting against the hold that she had on his arm.

"Because he's my brother," Rukia said, refusing to relinquish the hold that she had on him. She knew that he would flee should he gain his freedom and she was determined not to let that happen. "And I care about him and want him to know."

Groaning to himself Ichigo resigned himself to his fate and ceased his struggle for freedom. If Rukia really wanted to tell Byakuya that they were dating then who was he to stop her? If it was his fate to die today then he was resigned.

But that didn't mean that he had to like it.

"I don't wanna die!"

Rukia rolled her eyes at the outburst from her boyfriend but chose to remain silent. Ichigo stopped fighting at this point, which made it much easier to pull him along, and Rukia heaved a sigh of relief. Maybe this wouldn't be such a bad experience after all.

"Hey Rukia-chan!"

Rukia turned her violet eyes in the direction that the voice had came from and she smiled broadly as her gaze fell upon the Squad Ten Captain, Rangiku Matsumoto. "Hey Rangiku-san," she called out, waving for the voluptuous blond to come closer. "What are you doing?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Ichigo said, his gaze locked on Matsumoto. "She's avoiding her paperwork."

"Why Ichigo I'm offended," Matsumoto said, although the wide smile that she wore on her face belied the words that she spoke. "I'll have you know that I complete my paperwork. . . mostly on time."

Rukia laughed however even this was a drastic change from the older woman's days as a vice-captain. She had been legendary for avoiding doing her paperwork however after the loss of Captain Hitsugaya the new captain had taken charge, surprising everyone with how much she had changed.

"So what brings the two of you to Soul Society?" Matsumoto asked, her curiosity aroused. It wasn't normal for the two Squad Five officers to come to the Seireitei on days that there weren't meetings for either the captains or the vice-captains. After all they were permanently stationed in the world of the living.

"An execution," Ichigo mumbled, his gaze downcast.

Matsumoto's eyes widened in surprise and Rukia quickly held up her hands. "It's nothing like that Rangiku-san. It's just that Ichigo asked me to be his girlfriend and I wanted to share the good news with Nii-sama."

"Well that's just insane," Matsumoto commented, her gaze once again focusing on Ichigo. "If I were you I'd wait until you guys got engaged before I told him anything."

"Don't look at me," Ichigo said. "It's not my idea."

"It'll be fine," Rukia told both of them. "Well we should probably be going. We'll see you later Rangiku-san."

"Maybe," Ichigo added as he was pulled along by his girlfriend. He wasn't really expecting to escape this encounter unscathed since it was a no win situation. On the one hand, if he beat Byakuya then Rukia would probably be angry with him but on the other hand, if he didn't beat Byakuya then the Squad Six Captain would probably kill him.

"And I bet that bastard would enjoy it," Ichigo muttered.

"What was that Ichigo?" Rukia asked, turning her head and gazing back at him.

"Nothing," Ichigo lied, having no desire to repeat himself.

Leaving Matsumoto staring at them the two Squad Five officers continued on their way across the Seireitei. It was too early in the day for Byakuya to be at home at the Kuchiki Manor so Rukia proceeded to drag her captain and new boyfriend in the direction of the Squad Six barracks.

As they walked Ichigo could almost swear that he saw his life flash before his eyes and in his opinion it was way to short. He was reluctant to follow Rukia any further however he knew that he didn't have a choice in the matter. He struggled to swallow around the lump that had appeared in his throat, feeling like a lamb being led to the slaughter.

"This sucks," he thought to himself, clenching his hands into fists.

When the couple arrived at the Squad Six office Rukia stepped forward and knocked on the door, while still maintaining her grip on Ichigo's arm. "Enter," a gruff voice called out from within. Rukia offered Ichigo a brief smile before she slid the door open and pulled him inside the office.

Byakuya was sitting behind his desk and he gazed up as Rukia and Ichigo stepped inside his office.

Rukia could tell, by the faint look of confusion in his eyes, that her brother was confused by their appearance in his office and she offered him a smile. "Hello Nii-sama. Ichigo and I," she paused and tugged on Ichigo until she had him facing forward, then continued. "have something that we'd like to tell you."

Byakuya's questioning gaze focused on Ichigo and a look of defiance suddenly appeared on the Squad Five Captain's face. "Rukia and I are dating and she thought that you'd like to know."

Byakuya took a moment to digest the information that he had just been given and then he nodded before returning to the pile of papers that were stacked in front of him, as though his paperwork was more important than the two of them. "Very well."

"Wh. . . what did he say?" Ichigo stammered as Rukia beamed a smile at her brother. He couldn't believe the words that he'd just heard and wanted to find out if he'd hallucinated the entire thing.

"He said very well," Rukia repeated. "Which means that he's fine with our relationship."

And with this Rukia once again seized Ichigo by the arm and pulled him from the office, before he had the chance to do something stupid that made Byakuya change his mind. It would be so like him and she didn't want to give him the opportunity.

"It didn't sound like he was saying okay," Ichigo grumbled as the two of them made their way back toward the Senkaimon that would take them home to the world of the living. "It sounded as though he didn't have time for us and didn't care what we had to say."

"I don't believe this," Rukia said, placing her hands on her hips as she turned to glare at him. "First you didn't want to go because you were certain that Nii-sama was going to be mad and that you'd have to fight him and now you're upset that he didn't react the way you expected. What the hell is wrong with you Ichigo?"

"I'm defective," the Squad Five Captain muttered, his tone of voice serious as he answered her question.

"Yes you are," Rukia said, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him into a hug. "But I wouldn't have you any other way."

"And that makes you defective," Ichigo deadpanned.

Resisting the urge to slap him upside the head Rukia instead pulled him even closer and touched her lips to his. The two of them were definitely not a normal couple but hey, normal was over rated any way. They were who they were and that was good enough for her.

A/N - and there's chapter ten! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a review and tell me what you thought. Til next time this is Hitsu-taichou signing out.


	11. The Joy of Two

Disclaimer - I do not own Bleach

Chapter Eleven - The Joy of Two

Now that they were officially a couple Ichigo and Rukia were finding out just how enjoyable it could be to spend their time together. And since it was better for them to spend their time together doing something enjoyable rather than work Ichigo was making it more of a point to get his work completed so that he and Rukia could do something fun. Rukia was still growing accustomed to being in the world of the living and their fun usually involved a field trip to somewhere.

Ichigo didn't mind the fact that she was always wanting to go somewhere and, after a particularly long session of paperwork, he suggested that the two of them go to a nearby amusement park. Rukia had never been and he was fairly certain that she would enjoy the experience.

"Hey," he said, putting down his pen and gazing over at his girlfriend. He still got a thrill everytime that he thought of her that way. "What do you say the two of us go to an amusement park?"

"What's that?" Rukia asked as she too put down her pen. She gazed over at Ichigo, a questioning look in her violet eyes.

"It's fun," Ichigo said, not sure of exactly how to explain the concept of an amusement park with her. "You'll like it, I promise."

"Okay," Rukia said.

"Great," Ichigo said, getting to his feet and walking across the room to the spot where she was sitting. Reaching out he offered his hand to her and he was delighted when she took it. The two of them hadn't been dating long and they were still testing the waters, so to speak.

"Aww," a voice called out, startling the couple. "That's so cute!"

"Kaiya!" Ichigo exclaimed, his gaze going to the open window.

Sure enough his fourth seat officer was perched on the window sill, gazing at them with a 'cat that ate the canary' expression on her face. Her eyes were open wide and Ichigo could actually see the wheels inside her head turning, thinking about all of the people who would pay to hear about this.

"Is there something that I can help you with?" Ichigo asked, his tone slightly grumpy.

"I just came to inform you that a large group of Hollow have been discovered on the outskirts of town," Kaiya said. "Tomori's already gone to take care of it but you told me to warn you if anything came up that I thought he couldn't handle."

"And you think he can't handle a group of Hollow?" Ichigo said.

"Not sure," Kaiya answered honestly. "He didn't take any back up with him."

"Wonderful," Ichigo said, irritated over the fact that he was going to have to go out and check up on his annoying third seat officer. This fact pissed him off because he had actually been looking forward to his little date with Rukia, even though the two of them were only going to an amusement park. "Guess I'd better go and make sure that the idiot doesn't get himself killed."

"I'll come with you," Rukia said, hoping to cheer Ichigo up.

Ichigo offered her a smile, pleased that she wanted to come along with him. "Okay. And after we make sure that he doesn't die then I promise that we'll go on our date."

"Right," Rukia said.

So together the Captain and Vice-captain of Squad Five left their house and made their way across town toward the spot where Kaiya had directed them. As they grew closer they began to pick up on the reiatsu of the Hollow and it immediately became obvious that they weren't the low level enemies that usually attacked their town.

"Great," Ichigo groaned as he used his gikongan to emerge from his body. Normally he avoided the little device like the plague but there wasn't anyone around to see it and he didn't want to just leave his body lying around. It tended to cause trouble.

Tomori was engaged in battle with the Hollow and, judging by the injuries that covered his body, it was apparent that he was just barely managing to hold his own.

"Idiot!" Ichigo snapped as he leapt into the battle. Swinging Zangetsu he made quick work of the Gillian that Tomroi was fighting. "You should never go out without backup you fool." Another swing of his zanpaktou and two more Hollow fell.

It wasn't long before Ichigo had the situation under control and he turned to his third seat officer with a sneer. "I think that you should go to Squad Four and get those wounds tended to."

"Yes. . . yes sir," Tomori said, looking somewhat embarrassed that he's had to be saved by his captain. The man used his flash-step and fled the scene, leaving Ichigo to turn his attention back to Rukia. She hadn't even bothered to leave her gigai and had merely watched Ichigo fight with the Hollow.

"Amazing as always," she purred as Ichigo walked up to her.

"Thanks," he said as he returned to his body. It had conveniently chosen to follow them to the battle ground and he was grateful for this fact. It would have been somewhat annoying if he'd had to go out and track down his body. "So, shall we go to the amusement park now?"

Rukia nodded, looking excited.

Ichigo seized Rukia by the hand and together the two of them made their way across Karakura Town to the amusement park that Ichigo had visited, along with his sisters, when he was younger. It had been years since he'd been and as he and Rukia stepped through the gate he began to realize why that was.

He had never been a fan of large crowds and with all of the people at the amusement park it was somewhat difficult to walk. Ichigo began to regret this trip but that feeling soon disappeared.

Rukia squealed in delight as her gaze fell upon the collection of rides that was assembled around the park. Her violet eyes were shining and Ichigo decided that he could deal with the crowds so long as this made her happy. That was his main objective of the day.

"Come on Ichigo," Rukia said, her voice filled with excitement.

Ichigo allowed himself to be led around to the various rides and together he and Rukia went on them. Her all time favorite turned out to be the carousel and she forced Ichigo to ride that particular ride about twenty times. It probably would have been more than that but Ichigo was growing somewhat motion sick by ride twenty and he had to put a stop to it.

Rukia was a good sport about the whole thing and proceeded to lead Ichigo to the area were games had been set up. Her eyes widened as her gaze fell upon a large plush rabbit and Ichigo could tell by the look in her violet eyes that she wanted it.

The game consisted of throwing a ball at three milk bottles that had been stacked together.

Reaching into his pocket Ichigo pulled out a couple of folded bills and handed them to the man who was running the game. The man offered him a smile and handed him two balls. He got two chances for the amount that he payed however Ichigo was fairly confident that he would only need one. Pulling his arm back he imagined the face of Aizen and then threw the ball as hard as he could.

Not only did the bottles fall but they actually shattered.

"Sorry about that," Ichigo said to the startled man, rubbing the back of his head. He hadn't meant to put that much power behind the throw and absently found himself thinking that maybe he should have imagined someone else.

"No. . . not a problem," the man said as he gestured toward the collection of plushed animals that were hanging on the wall behind him. "Pick your prize."

Ichigo pointed toward the rabbit and, when the man handed it to him, he immediately turned and offered it to Rukia. There was a broad grin on his face and it grew even wider as her eyes lit up and she took the plush toy in her arms.

"Thank you," she murmured.

Those two seemingly simple words made Ichigo want to win some more and, when the couple left the amusement park, Rukia was caring a small pile of plush animals of various shapes and sizes. She was smiling broadly and Ichigo could tell that she had enjoyed the trip.

And that made it worth it to him.

A/N - sorry that it's been so long since I updated this. Hope you enjoyed, please leave a review and tell me what you thought. Til next time this is Hitsu-taichou signing out.


	12. A Sad Anniversary

Disclaimer - I do not own Bleach

Chapter Twelve - A Sad Anniversary

A year had passed since the final battle and the end of the Winter War and the inhabitants of Soul Society, as well as the members of the living world liaison squad, were planning a memorial service in honor of the fallen. Things were slowly beginning to fall back in order however the Shinigami wanted to make sure that no one forgot the sacrifices of those who had helped them attain peace.

"Alright guys," Ichigo said, gazing at the members of his assembled squad. "I need a handful of volunteers to stay behind and make sure that nothing goes wrong in the world of the living."

Tomori was the first one to raise his hand. "I'll stay behind. After all, it's not like this stupid ceremony is going to bring any of them back to life."

Ichigo scowled at his third seat officer but chose not to comment. If the jerk wanted to stay behind then that was just fine with him. The Squad Five Captain nodded his head in consent and then searched the crowd for any more possible volunteers. A couple of other members volunteered to stay behind however in their cases Ichigo could tell that they were only doing it out of a sense of duty and meant no disrespect to those who had lost their lives.

"I'll stay behind if you wish," Kaiya said in a quiet voice.

Ichigo immediately shook his head. She was the sole member of his squad whom he would not allow to remain behind. "No Kaiya, you should come. I think that Kin could really use your moral support right now."

Kaiya nodded, a grateful expression in her eyes. Her best friend, Kin Soma, had been the third seat of Squad Ten during the war and had grown to care deeply for the young white haired captain. This ceremony was going to be difficult for her and Kaiya wanted to be there for her friend. "Thank you sir."

In the end Ichigo had ten volunteers to stay behind in the world of the living and protect the town from any Hollow who might decide to use the Shinigami's absence to their advantage. He gave his thanks to this group and then he and the remainder of Squad Five made their way to Soul Society. Wrapping his arm around Rukia's shoulders the Squad Five Captain led the way to the Senkaimon and together the group departed.

The ceremony was being held in the Squad One courtyard, where a memorial had been built in honor of those who lost their lives in the final battle with Aizen, and Ichigo and his subordinates all traveled there immediately upon their arrival in Soul Society.

When Ichigo and his group arrived at the Squad One barracks they all went their separate ways. They all had friends that they preferred to sit with and the Thirteen Court Guard Squads were a lot less formal than they were in the past. It wasn't a requirement for the Shinigami to sit according to Squad anymore so most of them chose not to.

Ichigo and Rukia were holding hands as they entered the courtyard and the couple immediately spied Matsumoto, Hinamori and Hisagi standing off to themselves. With a little nudge Rukia turned Ichigo's attention to Hinamori and he nodded his head. Together they approached the small group, intent on finding out how Hinamori was faring on this first anniversary of the death of her best friend.

Tears were glistening in her chocolate colored eyes but other than that she seemed to be holding up surprisingly well. She and Hisagi had gotten married about six months ago and the support from her new husband seemed to be helping her cope with the painful memories that this day brought.

"Hello Momo," Rukia said in a quiet voice. "Rangiku-san, Captain Hisagi." She nodded to each of her friends in turn and Ichigo mirrored her greetings.

"Hello," the two women said.

"You know you don't have to call me captain," Hisagi said, still not sure why she insisted on addressing him so formally when she didn't do the same for Matsumoto. It didn't make any sense and he had been trying to get her to stop since he became a captain. He was in her debt after all since it had been she who had saved the life of the woman he loved and he really wished that she would drop the formality.

Rukia merely smiled.

"May I have everyone's attention please," a voice called out, interrupting the various conversations.

All eyes shifted toward the memorial and the Shinigami saw that the Head Captain had came to stand beside it. There was a tormented look in Ukitake's eyes and it was obvious to everyone that this day was taking a toll on their kindhearted leader. So many had lost their lives in the final battle against Aizen and the Espada and they all knew, without ever having been told, that Ukitake blamed himself for those deaths at least to a small degree.

"If you will all take your seats we will begin," Ukitake said, trying his best to hold his emotions in check.

Without so much as another word from any of them the Shinigami all took their seats and gazed expectantly at the Head Captain. Ukitake took the opportunity to say a few words about each of the Shinigami who had lost their lives and then he offered the floor to the others. "If anyone has anything that they would like to add."

One by one each of the assembled Shinigami got up and said a few words about someone important that they had lost. No one had escaped the battle unscathed and this ceremony only served to illustrate that fact. Out of those who remained there wasn't a single person who hadn't lost a friend.

Once everyone had taken the opportunity to express the grief that they still felt Ukitake placed a wreath of flowers, comprised of the thirteen flowers that represented the thirteen squads, at the foot of the memorial and then the ceremony was complete.

And yet no one left.

The Shinigami once again broke into small groups to further discuss those who had been lost to them. This anniversary was taking a toll on everyone and Ukitake decided, in that moment, that they would only hold these memorial services every seven years after this.

"Hey guys," Renji said as he came to stand with Ichigo, Rukia, Matsumoto, Hinamori and Hisagi. "What do you say we all go out for a drink and celebrate the lives of those who are no longer here? As well as celebrate the ones that still remain."

"That sounds like a good idea," Ichigo said, wrapping his arm around Rukia.

"Better watch out Ichigo," Renji said, offering his friend/rival a warning look. "Captain Kuchiki is sending a death glare your way. You'd better release your hold on his sister before something bad happens."

"Nii-sama already knows about our relationship," Rukia said with a smile. "And that look he's giving us isn't likely to go away no matter what we do. He accepts the fact that we love each other but that doesn't mean that he has to be happy about it. You know how he is Renji."

Renji did indeed know how he was and he nodded.

"Come on," Matsumoto said, a smile spreading across her face as she seized Hinamori with one arm and Hisagi with the other. "Let's go and get that drink."

"Don't you have some paperwork that you need to do?" Ichigo asked playfully.

It had become common knowledge in the Seireitei that Matsumoto had began taking her responsibilities much more seriously since becoming a captain. In the beginning there had been talk that she had suffered severe brain damage in the final battle but those who knew her best knew that wasn't the case. She had taken her role as captain seriously as a way to honor her fallen superior.

She wanted to make him proud although she would never openly admit to that fact.

"I finished all my paperwork yesterday," Matsumoto told him without so much as batting an eyelash. "How about you Ichigo? Have you got all of your paperwork caught up?"

"Let's get that drink," Ichigo said, turning and walking away from the group.

Everyone laughed at the Squad Five Captain's reaction, which they knew amounted to an answer of no. It was common knowledge that Ichigo hated paperwork with a passion so it came as a surprise to no one that he was behind with his.

"He's going to finish it as soon as we get home," Rukia said sweetly, turning large violet eyes to her boyfriend. "Aren't you sweetie?"

"Yes dear," Ichigo said meekly.

That only caused the laughter to increase to a deafening volume. Not the least bit amused by the fuss that his friends were making Ichigo whirled around and sent them all a death glare that would rival even the ones that Byakuya gave.

Which of course only made them laugh harder.

It was good to laugh after having felt so depressed all day. It made them remember that they were all still alive and that life would indeed go on. They could still remember those that had been lost but for the first time they realized that it was okay for them to go on about their own lives. They didn't have to feel guilty over the fact that they had survived when so many had not.

It was a good feeling.

A/N - hope you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a review and tell me what you thought. The Musician.


	13. My Family is Insane

Disclaimer - I do not own Bleach

Chapter Thirteen - My Family is Insane

Having finished with her paperwork earlier that day and lacking anything better to do Rukia decided to indulge herself by reading one of the western romance novels that she had grown to love. She wasn't exactly sure why it was that she enjoyed reading them so much since they seemed to give women unrealistic expectations for men but the fact remained that she enjoyed it.

Grabbing one of her novels from the small bookcase that stood in one corner of her room the young woman made her way downstairs to the den. Once there she curled up on the sofa, intent on reading the book and escaping reality for a while.

Later Rukia would wonder what had possessed her and caused her to think that she could enjoy a quiet evening curled up with a book. It had started out quiet enough but as soon as Rukia was completely absorbed in her book she heard someone knocking at the door.

"I could pretend that I'm not home," she thought to herself after swearing because people always waited until the best part to interrupt her.

The knocking persisted and Rukia soon gave up on the idea of ignoring it until it went away. Judging by the sound of it, it wasn't going to go away. Marking her page Rukia placed the novel on the end table that was positioned by the sofa and then made her way to the door.

"If this is one of Ichigo's lackies wanting something stupid then I swear I'm gonna..." Rukia muttered darkly to herself as she reached out and pulled on the door knob. The door swung open to reveal not a member of Squad Five but Ichigo's father Isshin Kurosaki.

Rukia was surprised to say the least. "Um... hello..."

"Good evening my future daughter!" Isshin cried enthusiastically. He made an attempt to hug the young woman but Rukia quickly dodged the attempt and Isshin seemed to get the point. His face fell but he made no further attempt to embrace her. "I came here searching for Ichigo. Is he around?"

Rukia shook her head, wondering as she did so exactly what Ichigo's father wanted. Possibly to knock him around although that hadn't happened so much since Ichigo had been made into a captain. After the promotion Isshin seemed to think that his son had finally became strong enough. "No sir. He's not here right now and to be completely honest with you I have no idea where he is."

"Oh," Isshin said with a shrug, looking somewhat disappointed. But that didn't last long and within seconds Isshin had snapped back to his normal, albeit slightly crazy, self. "Well when he does finally wander home would you tell him to give me a call? I would greatly appreciate it future daughter."

"Um... okay," Rukia said, slightly embarrassed that he insisted on calling her future daughter. It seemed that someone had told the older Kurosaki that she and Ichigo were dating and now he was telling everyone who would listen that she was going to be his new daughter.

"Thanks," Isshin said. Then he offered Rukia a wide smile, turned around, and left.

Rukia watched as Ichigo's father walked away and then she closed the door and returned to the den. She picked up her book and attempted to resume reading however she found that she could no longer concentrate on the story, which she had to admit irritated her to a small degree. She was curious about what exactly Isshin had wanted to talk to Ichigo about and couldn't get those thoughts out of her mind.

"That was weird," she thought to herself.

* * *

A couple of hours passed and then Rukia, who had dozed off while attempting to read her book, was jarred back to consciousness by the sound of someone entering the house through the front door. She could tell by the reiatsu signal that it was Ichigo and called out, "Hey Ichigo, could you come here for a second?"

A few seconds passed and then a familiar head of orange hair appeared around the door frame. "What is it Rukia?"

"Your dad paid me a visit while you were gone," Rukia told him as she walked across the room and planted a kiss on her boyfriend. Ichigo wrapped his arms around her slender waist and pulled her into an embrace. "And he wanted to talk to you about something."

"It can wait," Ichigo mumbled as he bent to touch her lips with his.

"Ichigo," Rukia said, pulling away and gazing up at him. "You should really call him and find out what he wants."

Ichigo could tell by the tone of her voice and the look in her violet eyes that she really wanted to know what his father had wanted so, with a sigh, he nodded. "Alright, I'll call the old man." This said, Ichigo walked over to the phone and quickly dialed the number of the Kurosaki Clinic.

Of course Yuzu was the one who answered the phone. "Hey Onii-chan," she said excitedly.

"Hello Yuzu. Is Dad around? Rukia said that he came by the house looking for me earlier."

"Yea, hold on just a sec..."

There was a brief pause and then the voice of Ichigo's father came across the line, just as obnoxious over the phone as he was in person. "Hello I-Chi-Go!"

"What did you need earlier?" Ichigo asked, getting right to the point. He loved his father but he didn't want this phone conversation to drag on any longer than it absolutely had to. After all, Isshin was somewhat difficult to deal with and he really wasn't in the mood at the moment.

"I'm having a little get together this Saturday. And it goes without saying that you and my future daughter absolutely have to come. It just won't be the same without you."

Ichigo was instantly wary. "Dad..."

"Yes?" Isshin was trying to sound innocent but considering who it was that he was talking to it wasn't really working out for him.

"Never mind. What time is this get together?"

"Three o'clock."

"We might be there."

And without giving his dad time to question his words or to complain about them Ichigo hung up the phone. Then he turned his attention back to Rukia, who had returned to the sofa. "He's up to something but I'm not exactly sure what."

Rukia tilted her head slightly to the left, a questioning look in her violet eyes.

"He's having what he called a get together on Saturday," Ichigo explained as he walked over and sat down on the sofa beside her. "And he says that it won't be the same without us."

"Weird," Rukia muttered.

"We could just skip it," Ichigo suggested. There was a part of him that was joking but at the same time there was also a part of him that was really hoping that she would agree with the plan. After all his family members were insane so there really was no telling what they had planned.

"That wouldn't be nice," Rukia said, which effectively settled the matter.

"Alright," Ichigo said.

He had actually hoped that she would agree with him about not going but he wasn't really surprised that she hadn't. He could tell by the look in her eyes that she was curious about his father's intentions and if he were to be completely honest with himself Ichigo would have to admit that he was somewhat curious as well. But not curious enough to want to subject himself to whatever his dad was scheming about this time.

* * *

And so, Saturday at two forty-five, Ichigo and Rukia made their way to the Kurosaki Clinic. The door was unlocked and Ichigo led the way inside, through the house, and out to the backyard. The place was already crowded and Ichigo scanned the familiar faces. It was most of the people that he had grown up with including Chad, Tatsuki, Orihime, Ishida and his other friends from school.

Now he was on high alert.

"There's the happy couple!" someone exclaimed.

This statement, coupled together with a large banner that read Congratulations Ichigo and Rukia, caused the Squad Five Captain to see red. Clenching his hands together he looked around for any sign of his father. "I'm going to kill him..."

"Calm down Ichigo," Rukia said, grabbing him by the arms and preventing him from going off to murder his father.

Unfortunately Isshin chose that exact moment to make an appearance. He came up behind the couple and wrapped one arm around each of them. "Welcome son and future daughter... do you get the hint... huh, huh, do ya?"

"I'm going to kill you," Ichigo growled.

"So," Uryu said, eyeing Ichigo. "When's the wedding Kurosaki?"

Ichigo looked murderous however Rukia jokingly replied, "About ten years from now."

It didn't take long for everyone to figure out that Isshin had been the cause of all of the confusion and, after Ichigo kicked him in the head and sent him flying into the bushes, the party continued. There wasn't really a reason to have the party since the occasion for which it was being thrown hadn't even happened, but they were all there so why not?

"But I'm still gonna kill you later," Ichigo muttered to his father any time that the man came near him. It wasn't really a threat, more of a promise. But he knew that his father was completely unphased by the threat of bodily harm. After all, his family was insane.

A/N - I have no idea where this chapter came from but here it is. Hope that you enjoyed, please leave a review and tell me what you thought.


	14. Thoughts of the Future

Disclaimer - I do not own Bleach

Chapter Fourteen - Thoughts of the Future

Ever since his dad had thrown that whacked out party to celebrate an engagement that had never happened Ichigo had been consumed with thoughts about his future. He and Rukia had been through so much together in the relatively short time that they had known one another and she had proven that she would stand by him no matter what.

The two of them spending eternity together really wasn't a bad image.

"Damn it," Ichigo swore as his mind conjured up pictures of him and Rukia dressed for a wedding. "Now I'm infected with Dad's insanity. It's contagious! Agh!"

Deciding that he needed some fresh air to clear his mind Ichigo got to his feet. Quickly tossing his paperwork into the top drawer of his desk, to keep Rukia from noticing that he had yet to complete it, the Squad Five Captain left the office. He had been trapped there for too long anyway and rationalized that he had earned a little break. And this was what he resolved to tell Rukia should she catch him slacking off.

"I can't believe that I feel the need to make excuses," Ichigo muttered to himself as he left the house and began walking down the street. "I mean I'm the captain, not her. She's supposed to take orders from me but for some reason it's the other way around."

The orange haired boy thought about this for a moment and once again pictured the two of them as husband and wife. They already acted as though they were married anyway, what with her giving him orders and him following them without even realizing it.

"I have completely lost my mind."

"Captain!"

The sound of a familiar feminine voice calling out to him served to jar Ichigo from his thoughts and he glanced over his shoulder and watched as Kaiya walked toward him. There was a smile on her face as she came to stand beside him and Ichigo was instantly suspicious. "What's that look for?"

"You were spacing out about something," Kaiya said, her eyes dancing as the smile on her face grew even wider. "I called out to you three times before you even acknowledged my presence. So what's on your mind Captain... is it Vice-captain Kuchiki by any chance?"

Ichigo shook his head furiously, to deny her accusation, but unfortunately the blush that rose to color his cheeks gave away the fact that he was lying.

"You were," Kaiya squealed. "I knew it. So tell me Captain, what exactly were you picturing? You weren't being naughty were you?"

"Hell no!" Ichigo snapped, his brown eyes narrowing as he gazed at his subordinate. Kaiya was normally a little more respectful but she seemed to have taken an interest in his love life ever since he had asked for her help in organizing a date with Rukia.

"Well that's good," Kaiya said. "I didn't like the thoughts of having a pervert for a captain. So what were you thinking about pray tell?"

Ichigo briefly debated whether or not he should tell her about the scene that kept playing through his mind but in the end decided that he should. After all Kaiya had been helping him out and she may be able to offer him some advice.

And he needed all the help that he could get.

"I was just... thinking..."

"Yes?" Kaiya pressed, gazing at her superior officer expectantly.

"About Rukia in a wedding dress," Ichigo said quickly, wanting to get it over with as quickly as possible. The blush that had already been coloring his face only intensified and he resolutely refused to look his subordinate in the eyes. Or look at her at all for that matter. He didn't want to see what expression she was now wearing on her face.

"I knew you had it in you," Kaiya exclaimed, shocking her captain. He managed to work up enough courage to look at her and saw that she wore a beaming smile. "You really love her don't you?"

It was such a simple question and yet Ichigo found that he had to stop and think about it. He recalled all that he and Rukia had endured together, the sacrifices that they had made for one another, and found that he could reply with complete honesty that yes, he did indeed love her.

"With all of my heart."

"Then you have to tell her," Kaiya said.

That thought scared him somewhat. Ichigo had always been somewhat awkward when it came to expressing his feelings and this was a big deal. He loved Rukia and didn't want to make a fool out of himself by stuttering through a confession of those feelings.

"I'm sure that it won't be as bad as you think Captain," Kaiya said as though reading his mind. "After all she knows you better than anyone so I'm sure that she'll understand if you have a little trouble with the words."

Ichigo gazed at his subordinate. The young Shinigami really was entirely too perceptive but he couldn't deny the fact that she had a completely valid point. But that didn't diminish his fear about confessing his feelings to Rukia.

"I'll tell her eventually," Ichigo said in a quiet voice.

Kaiya gazed at him for a few moments before nodding her head. "Alright sir. Just let me know if you need any more help setting the mood. After all, you're kinda hopeless when it comes to things like that."

"Thanks," Ichigo muttered.

Kaiya wasn't entirely certain whether or not he was being sarcastic however she chose to believe that it was a genuine thank you. "You're welcome."

"So did you just come here to offer dating advice or did you actually need something?"

"I was just in the neighborhood," Kaiya said with a chuckle. "And I saw you roaming around like a space cadet. So I thought I'd stop by and see if I could help."

"Thanks."

This time Kaiya knew that it was a genuine thank you and she offered her captain another smile. "Any time Captain. After all, since you keep the Hollow population at bay it's not as though I really have much else to do. I thought about applying to work at the local paper as a dating advice columnist."

"There you go," Ichigo said with a smirk. "You should definitely try that and see how it works out for you."

"If you're just going to be mean to me I'm going to take my advice else where." And with these parting words Kaiya used her flash-step and left her captain standing alone on the sidewalk.

As he continued to walk Ichigo thought about her words and the encouragement that she had offered to him. Perhaps he would soon be able to find the courage to tell Rukia how much she truly meant to him... but it wouldn't be today.

But he really did enjoy the thoughts of Rukia in a wedding dress.

* * *

Having just returned from Soul Society Rukia made her way up to the office that she and Ichigo shared, expecting to find him there working on the paperwork that he was supposed to finish while she was away for her vice-captain's meeting. She noticed that the house was oddly silent and when she arrived at this office it was to find that the door was closed.

"Ichigo," she called out as she swung the door open.

The office was completely empty.

"I wonder where he went," Rukia thought to herself as she walked over to his desk. The top of the desk was completely free of papers and, slightly curious, Rukia opened the top most drawer. Inside she found the paperwork that he was supposed to have completed and, reaching in, she collected the papers. Scanning through them she noticed that he was only about half way finished and with a sigh she placed them back in the drawer.

"I swear... I thought that we were past this."

Rukia was curious as to where Ichigo had wandered off to and she made a mental note to smack him in the side of the head when he returned. That ought to teach him not to wander off when he had work that needed to be completed.

With a small sigh Rukia left the office and made her way downstairs to the den. She had already completed her own paperwork and decided to read a book until Ichigo returned. That should serve to occupy her mind and keep her anger from growing. Sitting down on the sofa she picked up her book, which had been left sitting on the end table from the last time that she had tried to read it.

A small smile appeared on her face as she thought back to the interruption that had ended that attempt at reading. It had been Ichigo's father coming to invite the two of them to a party to celebrate their own engagement. An engagement that he had come up with completely on his own.

It was a hint.

"Maybe I'll have more luck this time," Rukia thought to herself as she opened the book to the last page that she had read. The sound of the door opening caused her to roll her eyes. "Or maybe not."

Rukia looked up and watched as Ichigo entered the den.

"I thought that I would find you here," Ichigo said as he walked toward the spot where she was sitting. Rukia opened her mouth, about to tell him off for leaving without completing his paperwork, however the words died in her throat as Ichigo produced a bouquet of red roses from behind his back. "Here, I bought you something."

Rukia couldn't help but smile as she took the flowers.

"And now if you'll excuse me I have paperwork to finish." And with this hastily muttered excuse Ichigo left the room and quickly made his way upstairs.

Rukia's smile only widened. "He must really be embarrassed if he's opting for paperwork."

A/N - there's another chapter, hope that you enjoyed. Please leave a review and tell me what you thought. Til next we meet.


	15. Forever Yours

Disclaimer - I do not own Bleach

Chapter Fifteen - Forever Yours

Two years had passed since the end of the Winter War and slowly Soul Society had managed to get back in order. Those that they had lost during the war were still deeply missed however those left behind had found a way to move on and rebuild the Seireitei.

Ichigo was no exception to this and, after lots of thought about his future and what he wanted out of life, he had made a very important decision. Which was why he was currently sitting in a park in the center of Karakura, completely lost in thought. He knew what he wanted to do but what he was less sure about was how exactly to go about it.

But he was determined to come up with something on his own.

Placing his hand in the pocket of his pants Ichigo touched the little box that was nestled within. He had bought the ring months ago but had yet to work up the nerve to propose to Rukia. He desperately wanted to but the timing never seemed right.

"I know," Ichigo said, jumping to his feet and quickly leaving the park. He had a lot of things to do and he had limited time in which to complete everything.

* * *

Rukia was sitting in the office that she shared with Ichigo, completing a stack of paperwork that had been sitting on her desk for a couple of weeks. It wasn't often that she neglected her paperwork, that was usually left to Ichigo, but she hadn't been able to focus on it. Ichigo had been acting strange as of late and she was curious what was wrong with him.

"Rukia!"

Placing the pen down on top of the stack of paperwork Rukia glanced toward the door and watched as it swung open. A familiar mop of orange hair appeared and Rukia offered her captain/boyfriend a smile. "Where have you been Ichigo?"

"I went for a walk," Ichigo replied as he walked across the office and came to stand in front of her desk. "And I think that you need one too. You've been working to hard lately. Come on."

Ichigo offered Rukia his hand and, getting to her feet, she placed her hand in his. This was only adding to her confusion but she was too curious to refuse this invitation. The young woman desperately wanted to know what Ichigo had up his sleeve.

Because she knew that he was up to something.

"So where exactly are we going?" Rukia asked as Ichigo led the way downstairs and over to the front door.

"You'll see," was all that Ichigo would say.

Leaving the house that they had been sharing for the past two years Ichigo led the way across Karakura Town, casually pointing out random birds and small, furry animals. Rukia was growing increasingly more suspicious the more time that they spent together since Ichigo wasn't normally one to fawn over wildlife. What did he have in store?

"This is weird," Rukia thought to herself as she walked along beside Ichigo.

As he walked along, making random comments about the scenery, Ichigo covertly glanced at his girlfriend out of the corner of his eye. He could tell that she was confused, which meant that his plan was working. He wanted her caught completely off guard by the scene that he was leading her to. He had worked hard to make this the perfect set up and he wanted her to be impressed.

Ichigo led the way to the forest that bordered Karakura and together he and Rukia made their way down a shady path. The scenery was lovely and Rukia gazed around as they walked, never having visited this particular part of the town.

"It's so beautiful," Rukia commented, her voice soft as she gazed up at Ichigo.

"Just wait," Ichigo said, gently squeezing the hand that he held clasped in his own. "It gets better."

The couple lapsed into silence as they continued on down the path, each lost in their own thoughts. Rukia was growing increasingly more curious about where they were going and Ichigo was beginning to grow nervous now that they were growing closer to their destination. Suddenly the path opened up and Rukia gasped as she saw a peacefully flowing river, beside which a picnic blanket had been spread.

"Thank goodness it's all still here," Ichigo said, laughing nervously.

"Ichigo," Rukia whispered as she turned back toward him and wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. "This is..."

Leaning forward Ichigo wrapped his arms around Rukia and gently touched his lips to those of his girlfriend, enjoying the feel of her in his arms. He would be completely happy if the two of them could just stay like this forever. This was perfect.

"Do you like it?" Ichigo asked as the two of them finally broke apart.

"It's gorgeous," Rukia said, smiling widely.

Ichigo gestured toward the blanket and together he and Rukia sat down beside one another. Ichigo opened the picnic basket that was sitting beside the blanket and produced a wide variety of foods, all of which Rukia was very fond of.

"So who exactly did you get to help you with this?" she questioned, arching one eyebrow as she gazed at him.

"No one," Ichigo replied, blushing slightly. "This was all me."

Reaching forward Rukia took his hand and once more held it in her own. "You did good."

That brought a smile to Ichigo's face. He had been concerned about her reaction to the little picnic since the two of them had already had such a date. But it appeared as though he needn't have worried. Ichigo could tell, by the look in her beautiful violet eyes, that she was happy.

Once the two of them had finished their meals Ichigo got to his feet and offered Rukia his hand. She placed her hand into his and allowed him to pull her gently to her feet. The orange haired young man wrapped his arm around the black haired young woman and together the two of them walked over to the river's edge.

"Thank you so much Ichigo," Rukia whispered.

"Wait," Ichigo murmured as he reached inside his pants pocket and pulled out a small box. "It gets better."

Hearing those words once again Rukia once again turned her gaze toward him and watched, her breath catching in her throat, as Ichigo opened the small box that he held in his hand. A smile on his face, Ichigo opened the box to reveal a ring with a small diamond solitaire. "Rukia Kuchiki, I want nothing more than to spend eternity with you. I am forever yours. Will you consent to be my wife?"

Tears appeared in Rukia's violet eyes as Ichigo removed the ring from the box and slid it onto her ring finger. Then Ichigo turned his brown eyed gaze toward her and Rukia launched herself into his arms. Their lips touched and this time their kiss was pure passion and not the sweet little kisses that they had always shared before.

After a couple of minutes they finally broke apart and Rukia managed to say, "Yes Ichigo. I would be honored to be your wife. I am eternally yours."

Thrilled beyond belief that she had accepted his proposal Ichigo picked Rukia up and twirled her around on the bank of the river. He had finally gotten up the nerve to ask the important question to Rukia and she hadn't turned him down as he had been half expecting.

"Well," Ichigo said as he placed Rukia down on her own two feet and placed his arm around her slender waist. "This is going to be fun explaining to your brother."

Rukia couldn't help but laugh at the tone of his voice as he casually said this. "I tell you what. Since you did such a good job when we told him that we were dating I vote that we wait and see how long it takes him to notice the ring."

"Oh no," Ichigo said, shaking his head. "Then he'll definitely try to kill me. And I'm pretty sure that murdering my future brother in law would be frowned upon."

"Alright then," Rukia said, a smile seeming to be permanently attached to her face. "Then we'll tell him and the others in a meeting or something. Oh, and we'll have to call your dad and tell him that he owes us another engagement party."

"That'll make his day," Ichigo commented.

A/N - Only one more chapter and this story will officially come to an end. Hope that you have enjoyed reading it, please leave a review and tell me what you thought.


	16. Epilogue

Disclaimer - I do not own Bleach

Epilogue

"Come on Rukia," Ichigo called out from his position at the base of the stairs. He had no idea what was taking his fiancée so long to get ready to go on a simple picnic. The thoughts of the picnic brought back pleasant memories and Ichigo couldn't hold back the smile that spread across his face. It had become tradition for the two of them to go out on a picnic on the anniversary of the day that he had proposed to Rukia.

That had been eight years ago and the two of them still weren't married. Not that anyone who saw the two of them together would be able to pick up on that fact.

"I'm ready," Rukia called out as he descended the stairs and placed a kiss on Ichigo's cheek.

"You look beautiful," Ichigo murmured as he caught her lips with his own.

"Thank you," Rukia murmured as she pulled away from him and slapped him gently on the chest. "So where exactly are we going today?"

"We're going to that place that Urahara keeps telling me about," Ichigo replied as he and his fiancée made their way toward the front door. "Just so that I can tell him that we went so he'll shut up."

Rukia chuckled as she linked her arm in his.

Ichigo only vaguely knew where the river that Urahara kept telling the two of them to visit was located but it was okay because he and Rukia had taken the entire day off, having left Tomori in charge of Squad Five. This was the one day of the year when they took a day to themselves so the couple were just out to enjoy themselves, no time restraints and no distractions.

"So how do you feel about having left Tomori in charge?" Rukia asked as she and Ichigo traveled down a road that they had never been on before. She knew that Ichigo wasn't overly fond of his third seat officer and yet had left him in charge for the day.

"Stupidest thing I've ever done in my life," Ichigo said, shaking his head. "But I told Kaiya to keep him from doing something stupid."

"Good call Captain," Rukia said, playfully jabbing Ichigo in the rib cage.

"You know," Ichigo said, tilting his head to the side and gazing at Rukia with a little smirk on his face. "When you call me captain it takes on a whole different tone."

"You like?" Rukia asked, batting her eyelashes.

"I do like," Ichigo said, leaning forward and planting a kiss on her cheek.

The two were laughing and talking when they passed by a rather glum looking building. It was a two story brick house surrounded by a six foot black iron fence, which was covered in vines. As they passed Rukia glanced over at the yard and her eyes grew wide. She gasped, gaining Ichigo's attention.

"What is it Rukia?" Ichigo asked, turning to gaze at her.

"Look," Rukia said, pointing toward a large cherry tree.

Ichigo's gaze followed her finger and his eyes grew wide as well. Standing under a tree, dressed in a pair of torn jeans and a plain white t-shirt was a small boy. And it wasn't the child's haggard appearance that held the two Shinigami spellbound. No, this child bore an uncanny resemblance to a friend of theirs who'd died in the battle with Aizen.

"Ichigo, we have to find out what this means."

Nodding Ichigo led the way over to the iron gate. Reaching for the latch, he had the gate halfway open when he and Rukia heard a harsh voice call out, "Shiro! What the devil are you doing out here boy? How many times do I have to tell you not to wander off? One of these days I'm going to. . ."

The small white-haired boy gazed up at the middle aged woman who was hurrying over to him, a scared look in his eyes, but didn't say a word.

"Excuse me," Ichigo said as he and Rukia walked toward the pair.

The woman turned toward Ichigo and the sour look on her face immediately turned into a smile. "How can I help you sir? Are you and your lovely wife looking to adopt a child?"

"So this is an orphanage," Ichigo thought to himself. He offered the woman a charming smile. "Yes. We were walking by on our way out for a picnic when my wife saw this sweet little boy standing in the yard and she simply fell in love with him."

Rukia fought the urge to smile, marveling at Ichigo's acting skills. The man who was talking wasn't even remotely similar to the Ichigo that she knew and loved. Apparently, contrary to the popular opinion of everyone in the Seireitei, Ichigo really could use manners when it suited his purpose.

"Oh," the woman said, her smile fading. "I'm sure you'd be much happier with one of our other children. Shiro is sweet but he's also a little strange. The boy's been here for over six months and he's never once said a word to anyone. And sometimes he just stands around staring off into space with a terrified expression on his face, like he sees things that the rest of us can't."

Rukia and Ichigo turned toward one another and a look passed between them. Both understood what they had to do and Rukia turned back to the woman. "Oh no it has to be this boy. He's the cutest thing I've ever seen."

And to illustrate her point Rukia walked over, knelt down, and threw her arms around the child.

The little boy tensed as the strange woman wrapped her arms around him, as though he expected to be struck. Releasing her hold Rukia stared into the boy's eyes and saw that they were a vivid blue-green, the exact same shade as Captain Hitsugaya's.

"It has to be him," Ichigo said.

A/N - and this is where the story comes to an end. The last part was taken from Reincarnation, which continues the story so if you haven't read that fic then you really should. Hope you enjoyed this story, please leave a final review and tell me what you thought.


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